Aqua to provide stable rates; commits $10 million for capital
investments
BRYN MAWR, Pa. & GLENVIEW, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Aqua America, Inc. (NYSE: WTR) and the Village of Glenview, Ill.
announced today that Aqua's Illinois subsidiary will acquire the North
Maine Utilities (NMU) water and wastewater system, which serves more
than 44,000 people through 4,700 water meters and almost 2,500
wastewater connections. Under the agreement, which trustees of the
Village approved on May 6, Aqua Illinois will buy the system for up to
$22 million pending an evaluation of assets. The sale of the utility is
also subject to Illinois Commerce Commission approval, which includes a
process by which three appraisers will be hired to set the final value
of the system. The sale is expected to close in the summer of 2015. Once
completed, it will be added to Aqua America's current list of 25
municipal acquisitions it's completed since 1992.
By selling the NMU system to Aqua Illinois, the Village of Glenview will
ensure that customers are provided with rate stability, a concern the
Village sought to address through the sale. Aqua Illinois has committed
to a rate freeze for most of the costs to NMU customers through June of
2020, excluding annual wholesale water rate increases from
Chicago/Niles, which must be passed through. Aqua Illinois has also
committed $10 million in capital investments to the system to construct
an interconnection with Glenview to purchase Lake Michigan water from
Glenview/Wilmette by 2020 at a significantly lower price than the
projected Chicago/Niles rate.
"Aqua Illinois is glad to be able to provide the residents and
businesses of North Maine with quality water and wastewater services,
reasonable rates and excellent customer service," said Craig Blanchette,
vice president of operations for Aqua Illinois. "With more than 125
years of experience in the water industry, we have the operational
capacity, technical expertise and resources needed to meet the needs of
NMU customers. We look forward to being a community partner with the
Village of Glenview for many years to come."
"During its 17-year ownership, the Village of Glenview provided greatly
needed repairs and improvements to NMU, such as proactively replacing
underground water and sanitary sewer pipes, performing system
maintenance and repainting a larger water tank that had been an
eyesore," stated Glenview Village President Jim Patterson. "With an
agreement to sell the system to Aqua and provide NMU with less expensive
water from Wilmette as part of the sale, we believe NMU customers can
now benefit from a new owner that has more flexibility, especially to
provide rate stability."
Aqua America has completed 25 acquisitions in Illinois since 1999, and
more than 300 acquisitions company-wide since 1995. Last year, Aqua
America completed 15 water and wastewater acquisitions and grew its
number of customers a total of 1.3 percent.
Aqua Illinois provides water and wastewater service to 175,000 people in
12 counties throughout Illinois.
Aqua America is one of the largest U.S.-based, publicly traded water
utilities and serves nearly 3 million people in Pennsylvania, Ohio,
North Carolina, Illinois, Texas, New Jersey, Indiana and Virginia. Aqua
America is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol
WTR. Visit AquaAmerica.com
for more information, or follow Aqua on Facebook at facebook.com/MyAquaAmerica
and on Twitter at @MyAquaAmerica.
This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, among
others: the company's ability to invest capital, receive governmental
approval of the transition and close the acquisition. There are
important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements
including: general economic business conditions; the receipt of
governmental approvals; the successful closing of the acquisition; the
successful integration of the customers and the facility; and other
factors discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, which is on file
with the Securities and Exchange Commission. For more information
regarding risks and uncertainties associated with Aqua America's
business, please refer to Aqua America's annual, quarterly and other SEC
filings. Aqua America is not under any obligation — and expressly
disclaims any such obligation — to update or alter its forward-looking
statements whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise.
Aqua America, Inc.
Justin Pizzi
Director of Marketing &
Communications
O: 610-520-6308
M: 484-868-5032
JCPizzi@AquaAmerica.com
or
Brian
Dingerdissen
Director, Investor Relations
610-645-1191
BJDingerdissen@AquaAmerica.com
Source: Aqua America, Inc.
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