Customers of Kentucky American Water Company should anticipate a 7.5% increase in their bills this fall. The monthly increase for the average residential user is about $3 dollars. It’s outlined in a settlement involving the water company, the city of Lexington, the attorney general’s office, and Community Action Council.
Kentucky American External Affairs Manager Susan Lancho says the increase is needed to keep up with infrastructure demands. “When a system prolongs making those kinds of renewals, the water pipe replacements or the pump replacements, that sort of thing. That adds up and can lead to more expensive fixes or replacements down the line.”
Lancho says operational costs have not gone up because of efficiencies undertaken by employees. Kentucky American had initially proposed a rate increase about twice the agreed to rate.
Rates and Regulations Manager Linda Bridwell says new regulations also carry a cost. “While we have been able to be more efficient and there’s also a lot of technologies on some of the chemical treatment going on, the regulations are also becoming more and more stringent, so that kind of offsets those efficiencies that we may be able to find,” said Bridwell.
The rate increase settlement must still win State Public Service Commission approval.?
