Virginia American Water Announces New Rates in Effect Under Bond, Pending SCC Approval
April 12 2016 - 3:05PM
Business Wire
Water service cost remains at about a penny per
gallon; Operations expenses decreased by about 2 percent since last
rate case
Virginia American Water announced today new rates went into
effect April 1, under bond, for all of its customers. A general
rate case application was filed with the State Corporation
Commission (SCC) in October of 2015. After a thorough review of the
filing, the SCC will issue a Final Order determining the company’s
rates. Refunds will be issued if the Order is lower than the
request.
In the filing, Virginia American Water requested an increase in
total revenues of approximately $8.69 million, seeking recovery of
additional system investments of approximately $53 million,
including the acquisition of the Dale Services Wastewater System,
since approval of the company’s last rate case filed in 2012.
“This case is all about investments in infrastructure,” says
Virginia American Water President Barry Suits. “We have been
successful over the last four years to control our operations costs
due to investments in technology and improved work processes. In
fact, operations expenses have actually decreased by about 2
percent since the last rate case. These savings offset some of the
revenue requirement requested for capital improvements in this
case.”
In its oldest service area, the City of Alexandria, Virginia
American Water has been replacing three miles of water mains per
year. Elsewhere, infrastructure investments include a one
million-gallon storage tank rehabilitation in Prince William in
2013 and replacement of a 2.5-million-gallon clearwell in Hopewell
in 2014.
The rate request affects all customers in the company’s
Alexandria, Hopewell, Prince William and Eastern District service
areas. Rates for Virginia American Water’s residential customers
have changed as follows:
- In Alexandria – About a four dollar
increase per month for the typical residential customer using 4,500
gallons per month.
- In Hopewell – About a nine dollar
increase per month for the typical residential customer using 4,500
gallons per month.
- In Prince William –
- For water customers, an increase of
approximately eight dollars per month for the typical residential
customer using 5,200 gallons per month.
- For wastewater customers, the rate has
changed from a flat rate of $101.65 per quarter (about
$33.85/month) to a volumetric rate of approximately $39.56 per
month for 5,200 gallons per month.
- For both water and wastewater
customers, billing is now monthly, as it is in the Alexandria and
Hopewell service areas already.
- In addition, water and wastewater bills
are now integrated, and mailed together on one bill, rather than
billed separately. This is enabled by the completion of the
migration of its wastewater customers (from the 2013 acquisition of
Dale Service Corporation) into Virginia American Water’s billing
software.
- Eastern - An increase of about
twenty-nine dollars every two months for the typical residential
customer using 6,000 gallons every two months.
For all districts, Virginia American Water has also requested a
Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Service Charge, which if
granted, would not be included in customer’s bills until after the
Final Order is issued. Incremental annual increases in monthly
bills are not to exceed 10 percent in total over multiple years
between rate cases. This will enable ongoing investments to sustain
replacement of critical infrastructure, and decrease the need for
more frequent rate increases.
Suits said that even with the new rate increase the proposed
cost of water service in all four Virginia American Water districts
would remain at about one penny per gallon.
“The regulatory process for rate setting is fully transparent
and incredibly rigorous. It considers the needs of the customer as
well as the company’s ability to continue to reinvest in the
infrastructure to deliver high-quality water service,” said Suits.
“We have consistently met or surpassed all drinking water quality
standards and nutrient discharge standards established by the
United States Environmental Protection Agency, the Virginia
Department of Environmental Quality, and the Virginia Department of
Health, and we remain committed to providing quality water and
wastewater service in all aspects of operations.”
The SCC has scheduled a public hearing to receive input on June
21, 2016, at 10 am, in the Commission’s Second Floor Courtroom in
Richmond. For more information, customers can contact Virginia
American Water’s customer service center at 1-800-452-6863.
About Virginia American Water
Virginia American Water, a subsidiary of American Water (NYSE:
AWK), is the largest investor-owned water utility in the state,
providing high-quality and reliable water services to approximately
350,000 people. Founded in 1886, American Water is the largest
publicly traded U.S. water and wastewater utility company. Marking
its 130th anniversary this year, the company employs more than
6,700 dedicated professionals who provide regulated and
market-based drinking water, wastewater and other related services
to an estimated 15 million people in 47 states and Ontario, Canada.
More information can be found at www.amwater.com.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160412006626/en/
Virginia American WaterSamantha Villegas,
571-577-7477samantha@savipr.com
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