CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Customers of the state’s largest municipal water provider will be seeing yet another hike in rates. The state Public Service Commission has granted the rate increase for West Virginia American Water Company.
The company filed for the rate hike last May when requested an increase of 27.9%, which would amount to $60.5 million in increased revenues. The PSC order approves an increase of $6 a month for the average customer using 3,000 gallons of water a month. The average sewer bill would increase $7 a month.
“You add that into the years they’ve been continuing to increase, whether it’s the water company, the power company, the trash, all of this combined is making it harder for the citizens of West Virginia to sit at the table with their significant other and balance a budget,” Kanawha County Commissioner Lance Wheeler said.
West Virginia American defended the increase and said the money will be reinvested back into the infrastructure of the water system. The company claimed in its filing the rate hike would support over $239 million in investments and improvements in the system across the state since the company’s last rate adjustment in 2024.
“Continuing infrastructure investments across our service territory are vital for sustaining safe, clean, reliable, and affordable water and wastewater services for the communities we serve, as well as maintaining compliance with water quality and environmental regulations,” said Scott Wyman, president of West Virginia American Water said. “We strive to maintain a balance between continuous investment for needed system improvements and affordability for our customers, and this order allows us to continue to make necessary improvements for the longevity of the system.”
Wheeler had his doubts as did the PSC’s Consumer Advocate Division. They claimed in the rate case the company hadn’t met the parameters of a surcharge mechanism which was put into place in 2016 to address water loss in the system. The Consumer Advocate said the last rate hike was also centered around plans for upgrades, but the system continued to lose an undetermined amount of water. Meanwhile, from 2014 to 2024, the company’s revenue went from $8.5 million to more than $40.8 million.
“It’s the same message we continue to hear every time. This is something we really need to put pressure on. How much deferred maintenance, broken water lines, or services need to be done on the backs of rate payers and not on the corporation themselves,” said Wheeler.
He called the company’s grip on things a monopoly which the PSC is in place to regulate. Wheeler, who is a candidate for state Senate, suggested any relief would have to come from lawmakers at the Legislature.
“The PSC really needs to be held accountable making sure they are the safeguards of West Virginia citizens when it comes to a monopoly,” he added. “This is something that really needs to be looked at on the state level.”
There were several bills introduced during this past legislature directed at the authority of the PSC. One bill called for a moratorium on rate increases. None of them were approved.