HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission wants to hear from the public about the proposed rate increase of PA American Water Co.
Scheduled are an extensive series of 12 in-person and telephonic hearings in late January and early February on the proposal from PAWC to increase rates for water and wastewater services. Locally, customers in Kane would pay an additional $17 a month for water service and $4 a month for wastewater service under the proposal. A final decision on the rate request is due from the PUC by Aug. 7.
PAWC serves 681,707 water and 97,585 wastewater customers in 37 counties and is the largest regulated water and wastewater service provider in Pennsylvania.
Eight in-person public hearings and four by-phone public hearings have been set by the PUC. While none of the hearings are in the local region, the phone hearings are open to anyone.
The phone hearings are scheduled for 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Feb. 5, and 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Feb. 7.
Anyone who wants to testify at the telephonic public input hearing must pre-register with the Office of Consumer Advocate by Feb. 1 to receive the call-in information. Participants will testify in the order in which they register. If you don’t want to testify, but want to listen to the public input hearing, contact the OCA to obtain the call-in information.
To pre-register for either in-person or telephonic public input hearings, contact the OCA by phone at (800) 684-6560 or by email at consumer@paoca.org and provide the following: First and last name, date and time of the public input hearing, phone number where you can be reached prior to the hearing, email address, and if you require an interpreter.
The public hearings are set for Jan. 29 in Port Vue, Allegany County, at 1 p.m. and at 6 p.m., at the Port Vue Social Hall, 1191 Romine Ave., Port Vue; Jan. 30, Scranton, at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m., at Scranton Cultural Center, 420 N. Washington Ave., Scranton; Jan. 31, in Exeter Township/Reading, Berks County, at 1 p.m. and at 6 p.m., both at Dunn Community Center, 4565 Prestwick Drive, Reading; and Feb. 6, in Harrisburg, at 1 p.m. and at 6 p.m., in the main PUC hearing room, 400 North St., Harrisburg.
PUC Deputy Chief Administrative Law Judge Christopher P. Pell, Administrative Law Judge John M. Coogan and Administrative Law Judge Emily DeVoe will preside over the public input hearings.
If you wish to testify at an in-person public input hearing, you are encouraged to pre-register with the OCA prior to the date of your hearing. Those who pre-register and provide the information listed will be called to testify at the hearing in the order in which they pre-register.
