More than 200 Chester County residents filed into a public hearing in New Garden Township on Aug. 8 to voice opposition to Aqua Pennsylvania’s proposal to increase its water service rates by nearly 19% and its wastewater rates by more than 20%. Aqua filed the request with the Public Utility Commission (PUC) on May 24, which ordered an investigation to determine the “reasonableness” of the proposed and existing rates and assigned the investigation to administrative law judges Gail M. Chiodo and Alphonso Arnold III, who are compiling testimony from all nine public input hearings in Luzerne, Montgomery, Delaware and Chester counties from Aug. 1 to 12. The two-and-a-half-hour hearing in New Garden heard a total of 21 testimonies. Other officials present were representatives from the Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement, the Office of the Small Business Advocate and the Pennsylvania Office of Consumer Advocate. If the PUC rules in favor of the water giant, the proposed rate hikes would increase Aqua Pennsylvania’s total annual operating revenues by $126.7 million. A number of residents testified about the impacts the increased costs would have. The PUC’s final decision on Aqua’s proposed rate increase is due on Feb. 22, 2025. 
Source: Chester County Press; 8/14/2024