BRYN MAWR, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Aqua America, Inc. (NYSE: WTR) Chairman and CEO Nicholas DeBenedictis
today commended the North Carolina General Assembly and Gov. Pat McCrory
on the enactment of House Bill 710. The new law creates a water and
sewer infrastructure improvement charge (WSIC) designed to provide
customers of North Carolina's regulated water and sewer utilities with
improved water quality and better water and sewer systems while enabling
utilities to recover capital costs in a timely way through a bill
surcharge.
The WSIC encourages utilities to accelerate much-needed infrastructure
improvements, such as installing treatment systems and filters to
improve the way drinking water looks and tastes to meet secondary water
quality standards. The legislation also covers wastewater service
improvements. The new law maintains rigorous regulatory oversight by the
North Carolina Utilities Commission, and recovery of capital is only
allowed for necessary, reasonable and completed projects approved by the
commission. WSIC charges will be subject to audit and reconciliation
requirements.
This new rate mechanism — hailed nationally as a "best practice" — can
lengthen the amount of time between utility base rate increases while
still enabling the utility to recover capital costs.
"North Carolina's General Assembly and Gov. McCrory should be commended
for joining the list of other states that now use a water infrastructure
surcharge mechanism," said DeBenedictis. "One of the reasons Aqua can
complete the amount of capital improvement projects we do in other
states is directly attributable to this type of surcharge. All you have
to do is look at recent headlines about the state of our nation's
drinking water infrastructure to know how badly these improvements need
to be made. North Carolina's WSIC will encourage new and improved water
systems, while reducing the regulatory lag that can slow down important
infrastructure projects."
Earlier this month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released
survey results that show an investment need through 2030 of $384 billion
nationwide for drinking water system repairs and improvements, including
thousands of miles of pipes and thousands of treatment plants, storage
tanks and water distribution systems, which are all vital to public
health and the economy. Last year, Aqua's North Carolina subsidiary
spent more than $11 million to repair and improve water and wastewater
systems throughout North Carolina. Aqua provides water and wastewater
service to more than 250,000 residents in 53 counties throughout North
Carolina. You can find more information at www.aquaamerica.com.
WTRF
Aqua America, Inc.
Brian Dingerdissen
Director of Investor
Relations
610-645-1191
bjdingerdissen@aquaamerica.com
or
Gretchen
Toner
610-645-1175
gmtoner@aquaamerica.com
Source: Aqua America, Inc.
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