CHARLESTON â West Virginia American Waterâs request for water and wastewater rate increases has drawn the ire of local residents and officials.
The Kanawha County Commission and members of Charleston City Council are among those objecting to West Virginia Americanâs rate hike requests filed April 30 with state utility regulators.
The company is seeking an additional $40.8 million in annual revenue for water and wastewater operations combined, 26.1% more than the companyâs current rates.
County Commission President Kent Carper weighed in on West Virginia Americanâs request for the rate hike during the commissionâs meeting Thursday.
âIt is easy to sit here and complain as utility companies just recklessly, unfairly raise peopleâs rates,â Carper said. âBut in this case, itâs just true.â
CHARLESTON â West Virginia American Water has proposed water and wastewater rate increases that would result in a bill increase of $11.26 per month for the average residential water customer.
The largest investor-owned water utility in West Virginia filed rate requests with the stateâs utility regulators Friday seeking an additional $40.8 million in annual revenue for water and wastewater operations combined, 26.1% more than the companyâs current rates.
The average monthly residential sewer bill would jump from $54.14 to $71.84.
âThatâs a pretty substantial increase,â said Robert Williams, director of the Consumer Advocate Division of the state Public Service Commission, an independent arm of the commission that represents the interests of utility customers.
West Virginia American Water requests another rate increase
May 4, 2021
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) Customers could end up paying an average of $11 more a month for water if utility regulators approve a rate request from West Virginia American Water.
The largest investor-owned water utility in the state, which serves about 545,000 people, asked for an additional $40.8 million in combined water and wastewater operations revenue in a request filed Friday.
That’s 26% more than the current rates, the company said in a statement published on its website. The average monthly residential sewer bill would jump from about $54 to almost $72.
“That’s a pretty substantial increase,” Robert Williams, director of the Consumer Advocate Division of West Virginia’s Public Service Commission, told the Charleston Gazette-Mail on Monday.
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For many West Virginians, it was welcome news. As the COVID-19 pandemic raged, tens of thousands of residents had lost their jobs. And even before the expensive winter months arrived, so many people were financially struggling that more than 130,000 West Virginians were eligible for pandemic-related state assistance because they had missed a utility payment.