North Carolina residents will have seven opportunities to tell state regulators what they think of proposed rate increases by Aqua North Carolina, a private water and sewer service.
The company, with 88,000 customers in the state and nearly 1 million nationwide, is asking for rate hikes averaging about 19 percent. This is the second rate increase for Aqua in the past three years.
The N.C. Utilities Commission, which will review the rate request, has scheduled six public meetings across the state in April and a public hearing in Raleigh in June.
Aqua's move has roiled homeowners who already pay the company about $100 for typical monthly usage, twice as much as residents of Raleigh, Charlotte and other municipal utility departments.
Some customers are planning public protests at the locations of the utility commission hearings.
Aqua is a publicly traded company based in Pennsylvania that serves parts of 48 North Carolina counties that don't get municipal water-sewer service.
Wall Street analysts regard Aqua's executive management as top notch and the company as one of the best-performing private water utilities in the country.
The industry is known for its strategy of investing in infrastructure and seeking rate increases to pay for those investments. One Wall Street analyst calls private water companies "rate case machines."
"Unlike most businesses, free cash flow in the water utility industry must be reinvested in the business model or else earnings growth will stagnate," wrote analyst Richard Verdi of Sturdivant & Co., in a research report. "The key here is for water utilities to invest in infrastructure which therefore will increase both revenue and earnings."
John Murawski has been a full-time newspaper reporter since 1991, with stints at Legal Times and The Chronicle of Philanthropy (both in Washington, DC), The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Palm Beach Post (in South Florida) before arriving at the N&O in December 2004. At the N&O he covers energy (nuclear, coal, renewable, efficiency), hydralic fracturing (or "fracking"), public utilities (both electric and natural gas) and health care. His beat includes Progress Energy, PSNC Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas, PowerSecure International, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Biogen Idec and others. You can reach him at 919-829-8932 or
Comments
Aqua's "top-notch" water?
Tue, 03/08/2011 - 21:49 — maryrobDid I hear right? Aqua wants a Raise?
It's ironic that Wall Street regards Aqua as one of the best-performing water companies in the country. Bet they never showered in or drank the stuff that Aqua calls water. Ah! Water, the essence of life. I would love to invite Wall Street and Aqua to shower at our house. The "Water" that comes into our home consistently clogs our pipes, damaging the water lines, and all the equipment that uses water. The stains in the showers, toilets and sinks for example are impossible to clean and our washing machine and dishwasher can't possibly do their jobs due to heavy mineral deposits. And I wouldn't think of giving my family unfiltered drinking water from the tap; since moving to the neighborhood we have had to make so many adjustments to the way we use the water that comes into our home.
Customer Service at Aqua traditionally falls below par as well. As neighbors report leaks (especially during droughts) and are concerned that our wells may run dry, Aqua doesn't give us the time of day. They know they are the only game in town, so they mosey on over at their convenience, while water gushes out onto the road for days at a time. It's not hard to be the "best-performing" company when you are the ONLY source for a product. What do they call that? It isn't good business. We are tired of paying more money for an inferior product.... It's time for Aqua to do their job and take care of their customers, clean up the water, run it through a few filters, and just maybe, then we might feel inclined to give them a 19% raise.