CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper has a simple reaction to West Virginia American Water Company’s proposed rate increase of 28 percent.
“Too high, too much,” Carper said Friday, a day after the largest water utility in West Virginia filed its case for a general rate hike with the state Public Service Commission.
“It’s ridiculously high. They don’t expect to get that,” Carper said. “Yes, utilities need to have increases from time to time and companies can expect a reasonable rate of return, but people can’t afford this.”
The company said the driving force behind its case is the $105 million it has spent in recent years to upgrade its system that provides water to roughly one-third of the state’s residents. Carper said he’s learned over the years the company’s recovery requests are usually exaggerated.
“When you try and take a look at their numbers it’s sort of like Hollywood, they charge everything for a movie from the 1930s still,” he said. “The bottom line is that it’s way too much and we oppose it.”
Carper said West Virginia American’s parent company should be shouldering at least some of the burden for the improvements.
The 28 percent increase, if approved, would bring in $35.5 million in additional revenue a year. The average customer’s bill would go up about $12 a month. The state Public Service Commission will soon release a schedule for the case.