Aqua Pennsylvania Inc. filed an application with the state Public Utility Commission requesting a $5.08-a-month rate increase for typical residential water customers.
The request, which Aqua said would increase a typical monthly residential bill to $57.72, asks that the new rates become effective Jan. 18. The PUC, however, has the ability to suspend such requests for up to nine months to allow a complete investigation and analysis of Aqua's proposal.
In a press release, Aqua President Karl Kyriss said the primary reason for the rate request is that the company has invested approximately $450 million in infrastructure, including upgrades to its distribution and treatment systems to improve drinking water quality and service reliability since its last rate request in 2009.
"These improvements include the replacement and rehabilitation of more than 334 miles of aging water main, as well as valves, service lines and more than 1,000 fire hydrants throughout our 5,600-mile distribution system," Kyriss said. "The new mains often increase water flow, which coupled with new hydrants, enhances fire protection."
A significant portion of the capital has been dedicated to upgrading and rehabilitating treatment plants and wells, including the installation of state-of-the-art equipment to meet new more stringent environmental water quality requirements, Kyriss said.
"For maximum reliability, we have upgraded pumping stations, water storage tanks and standby electrical systems, and are proud to say no customers were inconvenienced without water service as a result of recent hurricanes and storms," said Kyriss.
Approximately 80 percent of the rate increase request is driven by the system improvements, he said.
$54 million invested
In the last four years, Aqua has invested $54 million in the Roaring Creek Division, including $25 million in water main replacements, according to The News-Item archives.
That figure includes a $1 million project undertaken this past summer in Mount Carmel, where 4,000 feet of 4-inch cast-iron main piping on Third Street between Hickory and Birch was replaced with 8-inch ductile-iron piping with a cement lining.
The company said it would also replace 4,400 feet of 6-inch cast-iron main with 8- and 12-inch ductile-iron pipe in Mount Carmel, along with six old fire hydrants and 100 lines to individual homes along Market Street between East Avenue and Fifth Street east to Locust Street.
Aqua Pennsylvania serves more than 1.4 million Pennsylvania residents, according to its website. A company administrator told The News-Item in October that Aqua has approximately 20,000 customers in the local service area.
If the PUC were to grant the entire request, Kyriss said the typical residential customer would receive a day's worth of water - approximately 130 gallons - for about $1.90.
The requested increase would generate $38.6 million in annual revenue, Aqua said.