Consumer Alert: PUC to Hold Two Additional Public Input Hearings on Rate Changes Proposed by Pennsylvania American Water Company

Consumer Alert: PUC to Hold Two Additional Public Input Hearings on Rate Changes Proposed by Pennsylvania American Water Company

Published on 12/30/2025

Filed under: Water and Wastewater

Two in-person hearings added on January 29 in Chester County to gather public testimony on the proposed rate changes for water and wastewater service

HARRISBURG - The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) today announced the scheduling of two additional in-person hearings on Thursday, January 29, 2026, to gather public input on proposed rate increases by Pennsylvania American Water Company (PAWC) for both its water and wastewater service.

On December 4, 2025, the Commission voted 5-0 to suspend and investigate the proposed changes. PAWC serves approximately 682,000 water customers and 97,000 wastewater customers in 37 counties across the Commonwealth.

Additional In-Person Public Input Hearings

Two additional in-person public input hearings will be held at the following location and times:

• Thursday, January 29, 2026

New Garden Township Municipal Building (Chester County)
299 Starr Road
Landenberg, PA 19350
Hearing #1 will begin at 1 p.m.
Hearing #2 will begin at 6 p.m.

NOTE: Individuals planning to testify on January 29 and wishing to refer to hearing exhibits during their testimony should email them to the PUC Judges' Legal Assistant, Sumathi Jayakumar Raj, at [email protected] by Friday, January 9, 2026. The PUC Judges will forward your exhibits to the active parties.

Requests for Interpreters

If you require an interpreter, you may pre-register with the Legal Assistant at [email protected] as soon as possible. If you register too close to the hearing date, we may not have enough time to arrange for an interpreter. If you request an interpreter, we will make every reasonable effort to have one present.

The TTY-based Telecommunications Relay Service number for persons who are deaf or hearing-impaired is 711.

Previously Announced In-Person Public Input Hearings

The addition of the January 29 hearing means the PUC will conduct a total of 12 public input hearings in the PAWC rate case proceeding. PUC Administrative Law Judges Jeffrey A. Watson and Emily DeVoe will preside over the hearings.

Previously announced in-person hearings include: (Note: Preregistration in not required for the in-person hearings)

• Tuesday, January 13, 2026 (Washington County)

Crossroads Center
Meeting Room G-16
95 West Beau St.
Washington, PA 15301
Hearing #1 will begin at 1 p.m.
Hearing #2 will begin at 6 p.m.

• Thursday, January 15, 2026 (Lackawanna County)

Scranton University
Brennan Hall, Fifth Floor
320 Madison Ave.
Scranton, PA 18510
Hearing #1 will begin at 1 p.m.
Hearing #2 will begin at 6 p.m.

• Friday, January 16, 2026 (Dauphin County)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Keystone Building
Hearing Room #1
400 North St.
Harrisburg, PA 17120
Hearing #1 will begin at 1 p.m.
Hearing #2 will begin at 6 p.m.

• Tuesday, January 20, 2026 (Berks County)

Dunn Community Center - Upper Level
4565 Prestwick Dr.
Reading, PA 19606
Hearing #1 will begin at 1 p.m.
Hearing #2 will begin at 6 p.m.

Telephonic Public Input Hearings

Two telephonic hearings will be held on following date and times:
(Note: Preregistration is encouraged for the telephonic hearings)

• Wednesday, January 21, 2026
  

Telephonic hearing #1 will begin at 1 p.m.
Telephonic hearing #2 will begin at 6 p.m.

Participating in the Telephonic Input Hearings

The call-in information for the two telephonic hearings is as follows:

Toll-free Conference Number: 866-675-4281

PIN Number: 85057514

To participate in a telephonic public input hearing, please complete the following:

• You must dial the toll-free conference number above.
• You must enter the PIN number above when instructed.
• You must speak your name when prompted, and press #.
• Then, the telephone system will connect you to the hearing.

NOTE: Individuals wishing to testify at a telephonic public input hearing are encouraged to pre-register by 4 p.m. on January 19, 2026. Failure to pre-register could result in you not being called to testify by the PUC Judges.

To pre-register, please email the PUC Judges' Legal Assistant, Sumathi Jayakumar Raj, at [email protected] or call the Judges' office phone at 717-787-4972 and provide the following information:

• Your first and last name.
• The hearing for which you are registering.
• The phone number you will be using to call into the public input hearing.
• A phone number where you can be reached prior to the hearing, if needed.
• Your email address, if you have one.

Assistance with Registration

If you need assistance pre-registering to testify, you may have someone register for you, but they will need to provide the PUC Judges with all the information listed above. Additionally, if more than one person in your household would like to testify, one person may pre-register for other individuals in the same household by providing the PUC Judges' Legal Assistant with the information for each individual planning to testify.

Hearing Exhibits

If you have any hearing exhibits to which you will refer during any of the hearings, please email them to [email protected]. The PUC Judges will forward your exhibits to the active parties.

• Exhibits for any in-person public input hearing must be received by the Legal Assistant by Friday, January 9, 2026.
  
  
• Exhibits for the telephonic public input hearings must be received by the Legal Assistant by Monday, January 19, 2026.

Offering Testimony at a Public Input Hearing

The PUC offers tips on how to participate in a public input hearing, including:

• Prepare what you are going to say beforehand. Even though it is not required, you may want to write out your statement, which can be read.
• Any formal testimony that is offered during the hearing will become part of the record on which the PUC will issue its final decision.
• Understand that parties in the case may want to ask you a question to clarify something you said.

Questions

Individuals needing assistance with pre-registration, or having questions about the public input hearing or the company's application, may contact the Pennsylvania Office of Consumer Advocate toll free at 1-800-684-6560 or by email at [email protected]. Small businesses can contact the Office of Small Business Advocate at 717-783-2525 or [email protected].

Other Ways to be Heard

If you want to provide comments about the proposed rate increase but do not want or cannot testify at the public input hearings, you may file a formal complaint or comment on the proposed rate increase. Please visit the PUC's website to use the applicable form available.

Proposed Rate Changes

PAWC's proposes an overall increase of $168.7 million (approximately 14.6%) in total annual operating revenues for water and wastewater service. As proposed, PAWC customers would have seen the following rate changes:

• For a typical residential water customer using 3,263 gallons a month, an increase ranging from $2.73 per month to $27.77 per month, an increase between 9.8% and 41.14%, depending on their service area.
• For a typical wastewater customer using 3,164 gallons a month, an increase ranging from $0 per month to $26.29 per month, an increase between 0% and 54.14%, depending on their service area.
• For customers with combined stormwater and wastewater systems, an increase of approximately $20 per month.

A final PUC decision on PAWC's rate increase requests is due by August 13, 2026.

About the PUC

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission balances the needs of consumers and utilities; ensures safe and reliable utility service at reasonable rates; protects the public interest; educates consumers to make independent and informed utility choices; furthers economic development; and fosters new technologies and competitive markets in an environmentally sound manner.

Visit the PUC's website at puc.pa.gov for recent news releases and video of select proceedings. You can also follow us on X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube. Search for the "Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission" or "PA PUC" on your favorite social media channel for updates on utility issues and other helpful consumer information.

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Docket Nos:
R-2025-3057983

R-2025-3058051

Contact:

• Denise McCracken
  Senior Communications Specialist
  717-787-5722
  [email protected]