West Virginia American Water has filed a petition with the state Public Service Commission seeking a rate discount for low-income customers.
President Jeff McIntyre said the company has made "sincere efforts" to keep water service affordable, but service costs have increased over time because of capital investment.
"We embarked on this effort as a way to lessen this impact for customers struggling to make ends meet," McIntyre said in a statement.
If the request is granted, residential West Virginia American Water customers would be eligible to receive a 20 percent discount on their monthly bills if they qualify for SSI, TANF, TANF-UP or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Further, the average residential household bill would be discounted from $41.37 to $33.10 per month and the minimum bill would be discounted from $21.67 to $17.34 per month.
"Although water and sewer bills are among the lowest household bills in West Virginia, our rates must reflect the true cots of providing service, which includes our capital investments as well as al of the operating costs associated with the treatment, monitoring and distribution of your water," McIntyre said. "Our current rates provide our customers with high quality water service at an exceptional value – approximately a penny per gallon. With this discount program in place, some customers will now receive this service for even less than a penny per gallon."
The discounted rate program is already in place for electric and gas utilities and legislation recently expanded coverage to private water utilities. That legislation was passed with the cooperation of the West Virginia Legislature, Public Service Commission's Consumer Advocate Division, AARP and West Virginia American Water.
Customer savings through the program, which is administered through the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, would not be subsidized by other West Virginia American Water customers. Instead, the company would be reimbursed through a credit toward its state business and occupation tax.
West Virginia American Water is the largest water utility in the state, providing water service to approximately 600,000 residents.
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