Pennsylvania PUC approves joint settlement

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) recently approved a June joint settlement agreement between the Pennsylvania Office of Consumer Advocate and Aqua America, a water and wastewater utility company.

The settlement allows Aqua Pennsylvania to close its purchase of wastewater assets that serve approximately 5,400 wastewater connections in Limerick Township, Montgomery County.

The state’s Act 12 legislation allows municipalities that own water and wastewater systems to sell their systems to regulated public utilities at fair market valuation and encourages consolidation in the industry.

Consolidation allows resources to be shared among a larger service area.

“Pennsylvania officials have been mindful of the important combination of protecting customers’ interests and incentivizing consolidation of nearly 2,500 water utilities that exist in the state,” Christopher Franklin, Aqua America chairman and CEO, said.

The approval indicates a commitment to safe and reliable water and wastewater service, Franklin said.

Aqua America has three other purchase agreements in place in the townships of Cheltenham, East Bradford, and New Garden. A purchase agreement in Manteno, Illinois closed July 5.

The five new purchases will add approximately 23,000 new customer connections to Aqua, which already serves nearly 3 million people in eight states.

The Limerick Township deal is expected to close in the next several weeks.