In mid-February, the Philadelphia Water Department announced it was seeking a 16.9% residential rate increase phased in over two years that would boost a typical customer’s bill by $11.72 a month.The agency stated that it was forced to induce a steep increase because it deferred increasing rates last year due to COVID-19, and also due to a dramatic fall in revenue last year after the city barred shut-offs of customers behind on their bills.
A typical residential bill for a customer using 500 cubic feet of water a month (3,740 gallons) would increase $7.74 a month to $74.47, or 11.6%, on Sept. 1, under the proposal. Bills would increase an additional $3.98 to $78.45 on Sept. 1, 2022, or 5.3%.
The rate increase request, which applies only to city customers, would generate an additional $49 million in the first year and an additional $32 million in the second year. The city said it needs more money to maintain existing service, improve infrastructure, offset lower collections and consumption, and replenish “limited financial reserves.”
The five-member Water, Sewer, and Storm Water Rate Board was created as an independent body by a 2012 Home Rule Charter change. It will schedule public hearings and technical hearings to evaluate the proposed rate request. A final decision is expected by June 16. The rate board last granted the water department an increase in 2018, when it allowed water bills to increase only about 1% over two years. The Water Department had requested an 11% increase over two years.
Andrew Maykuth, "Philadelphia seeks 16.9% water rate increase, citing revenue erosion from pandemic", contributed by Morgan Sarao and Alison Kenner, The Energy Rights Project, Platform for Experimental Collaborative Ethnography, last modified 12 March 2021, accessed 4 March 2025. https://energyrights.info/content/philadelphia-seeks-169-water-rate-increase-citing-revenue-erosion-pandemic
Critical Commentary
In mid-February, the Philadelphia Water Department announced it was seeking a 16.9% residential rate increase phased in over two years that would boost a typical customer’s bill by $11.72 a month.The agency stated that it was forced to induce a steep increase because it deferred increasing rates last year due to COVID-19, and also due to a dramatic fall in revenue last year after the city barred shut-offs of customers behind on their bills.
A typical residential bill for a customer using 500 cubic feet of water a month (3,740 gallons) would increase $7.74 a month to $74.47, or 11.6%, on Sept. 1, under the proposal. Bills would increase an additional $3.98 to $78.45 on Sept. 1, 2022, or 5.3%.
The rate increase request, which applies only to city customers, would generate an additional $49 million in the first year and an additional $32 million in the second year. The city said it needs more money to maintain existing service, improve infrastructure, offset lower collections and consumption, and replenish “limited financial reserves.”
The five-member Water, Sewer, and Storm Water Rate Board was created as an independent body by a 2012 Home Rule Charter change. It will schedule public hearings and technical hearings to evaluate the proposed rate request. A final decision is expected by June 16. The rate board last granted the water department an increase in 2018, when it allowed water bills to increase only about 1% over two years. The Water Department had requested an 11% increase over two years.