The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission has approved a rate hike for Pennsylvania-American Water Company and PAWC’s wastewater division. This includes a lower than requested increase in water revenues but a higher than requested increase in wastewater revenues.
Under the new rates, the water bill for the typical residential customer will increase by $8.76 per month, from $60.48 to $69.24 (14.5%), rather than the $15.01 increase (24.8%) proposed in the original PAWC filing.
Also under the approved rates, the wastewater bill for a typical residential customer will increase by $30.00, from $76.65 to $106.65 per month (39.1%), rather than the $19.01 increase (24.9%) proposed in the original filing.
The settlement allows for a combined total increase in PAWC’s annual water and wastewater revenues of $138,000,002 (16.6%), compared to the company’s original request for an increase of approximately $173.2 million (20.8%).
The PUC said that the settlement also targets several consumer assistance and customer service issues including a discount structure, targeted community outreach, and water main extension projects.
PAWC provides water and/or wastewater services to about 2.3 million people in 37 Pennsylvania counties, the PUC noted.
