Los Osos residents who already feel squeezed by high water costs may face another strain on their monthly budgets.<\/p>\n
A proposed rate plan tied to future infrastructure work is fueling fresh concern in a community where many residents say basic water service is already expensive enough.<\/p>\n
Here’s what to know<\/p>\n
For its Los Osos customers, Golden State Water Company has asked for a rate structure covering 2028 to 2030, according to KSBY<\/a>.<\/p>\n The utility said the plan would support pipeline replacement work, a replacement groundwater well, and a study on whether the system could eventually connect to the State Water Project’s Coastal Branch.<\/p>\n The California Public Utilities Commission is expected to decide in late 2027. If the proposal is approved, residential and commercial customers would not see rate changes.<\/p>\n Without approval, the company’s figures show a different outcome: a residential customer using 3,740 gallons per month could see a bill increase from $116.40 to $148.25, while a commercial customer using 14,960 gallons per month could see a bill increase from $331.16 to $409.12.<\/p>\n More background<\/p>\n Water systems require maintenance, and supply planning is especially important in drought-prone California.<\/p>\n Chris Keith, a Golden State Water Company customer who said he has lived in Los Osos for 13 years, told KSBY that he has watched the cost of water rise over time.<\/p>\n “We’re definitely water payers,” Keith said. “It’s safe to say it’s become very, very expensive.”<\/p>\n He said some households can face especially large totals each month: “I think we’re at about $1,000 a month. I would be a little off because Shaline does the bills because they make me cry.”<\/p>\n What’s being done?<\/p>\n State regulators at the California Public Utilities Commission are set to take up the request, with a ruling expected in late 2027 on whether the proposed structure moves forward.<\/p>\n Golden State said the funding would go toward replacing pipelines, drilling a replacement groundwater well, and studying a possible future tie-in to the State Water Project’s Coastal Branch.<\/p>\n Keith said, “Every $50 or $70 counts now.”<\/p>\n Get TCD’s free newsletters<\/a> for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Los Osos residents who already feel squeezed by high water costs may face another strain on their monthly…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":437746,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8,14047,173657,173656,45713,102269],"class_list":["post-437745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-california-public-utilities-commission","tag-chris-keith","tag-golden-state-water-company","tag-state-water-project","tag-water-service"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=437745"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437745\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/437746"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=437745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=437745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=437745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}