New Rates Approved for California American Water Customers

The California Public Utilities Commission approved new rates for California American Water customers on the Monterey Peninsula. Customers will soon receive notifications of how this increase will impact their bills once the final rate design is approved. The new rates continue a modified form of the same successful tiered rate structure that rewards those who save water and discourages water waste.

A precise account of how this proposed increase will impact customers' bills will be addressed in a separate filing with the CPUC. In general, the increase will be distributed based on consumption levels, meter size and household allotment, depending on the service area.

The new rates will bring in around $7 million in additional revenue to fund new infrastructure projects and improvements in the company’s Monterey-area water systems and to offset increases in purchased water, operational and maintenance costs through the end of 2014. This would increase California American Water’s total investment in the Monterey Peninsula to nearly $49 million, annually.

“The additional revenue generated from the these new rates will address the structural needs of our Monterey Peninsula water system while mitigating as much as possible the financial impact to our customers,” said Eric Sabolsice. “We made every effort to minimize costs in all of our projects and operations while honoring our obligation to provide our customers with the highest level of water quality and service they expect. It’s worth noting that despite this increase, our water is still a great value at less than a penny per gallon for most customers.”

Some of the major infrastructure projects that these rates will help fund within the Monterey Peninsula service district include:

• More than $2.7 million to rehabilitate wells as well as booster station upgrades within the service district.
• More than $1 million dollars to construct new water storage tanks, combining for a total of more than a million gallons of capacity.
• More than $3 million in treatment and distribution upgrades throughout the Monterey service area.

These investments are in addition to the company’s ongoing effort to replace and install new water lines, meters, hydrants, as well as making improvements to pumping and storage facilities to enhance water service, reliability, efficiency and quality throughout the Monterey Peninsula.

To help customers save water and money, the company has implemented a comprehensive conservation in all of its service districts. The program includes offering low-flow showerhead and hose nozzles, sink aerators, leak detection kits and many other types of free water-saving devices to all customers free of charge. The company also offers sizeable rebates for qualified water-efficient appliances like clothes washers and low-flow toilets as well as drought tolerant landscaping.

California American Water also offers all of its Monterey customers a free home water use survey, where, upon request, the company will dispatch a conservation specialist to the customer’s home to look for leaks and other areas of water savings.

For low-income customers, the company proudly offers “H20 help to others,” a program designed to assist those experiencing financial difficulties in paying their water bill.

“We are here to work with all our customers through this rate adjustment for which we have an array of programs and services,” Sabolcise said. “We want to ensure that everyone is provided support in their efforts to conserve water and to assist those who might be struggling financially.”

California American Water, a wholly owned subsidiary of American Water (NYSE: AWK), provides high-quality and reliable water and/or wastewater services to approximately 600,000 people.

Founded in 1886, American Water is the largest publicly traded U.S. water and wastewater utility company. With headquarters in Voorhees, N.J., the company employs approximately 7,000 dedicated professionals who provide drinking water, wastewater and other related services to an estimated 15 million people in more than 30 states and parts of Canada. More information can be found by visiting www.amwater.com.