Penn American Raising Water Rates For Nearly 700,000 PA Customers

PENNSYLVANIA — Water rates for hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvania residents will rise 10 percent next month after the Public Utility Commission Thursday approved a Pennsylvania American Water rate hike request.

The new rates from the state's largest water and wastewater service provider go into effect on Aug. 7. According to the PUC, they will impact 681,707 water and 97,585 wastewater customers in 481 communities in 37 of Pennsylvania's 67 counties.

The rate hike could have been worse, as Penn American had requested a 20 percent increase. Instead, the PUC approved a jump of half of that amount and also mandated that the utility enhance its customer assistance programs.

“I believe that the commission struck a balance by approving a significantly lower increase than requested while expanding customer benefits and access to the company’s various consumer assistance programs,” PUC board chairman Stephen DeFrank. said in a release.

The rate revisions will provide Penn American with an additional $99 million per year, according to the PUC. The utility will be required to contribute an additional $1 million to its Hardship Fund, which currently receives $750,000 per year in funding.

Penn American Water

In the map above, areas where Penn American provides water service are shaded in blue. Communities where the utility provides wastewater service are highlighted in green.

The PUC board on Thursday also approved launching an investigation into the large number of water quality concerns raised by consumers who testified at public input hearings as part of the rate case. The inquiry will analyze the cause of complaints about dirty, discolored or bad-smelling water and make recommendations to Penn American on how to correct those issues.