Pittsburgh Water is raising its rates for most customers beginning on March 8. Starting in April, average residential bills will go up about $15 per month — from $100.27 to $115.29, according to the water authority.
“As every consumer has seen over the last few years, inflation is being experienced especially for us,” said Will Pickering, CEO of Pittsburgh Water. “We’re one of the biggest energy users in the city of Pittsburgh and in the region because it takes a tremendous amount of energy to operate our treatment plant that treats drinking water as well as the pumping that is necessary to move that water in the various elevations of the city.”
Rising costs in construction, along with paying off loans used to fund Pittsburgh Water’s nearly $500 million project to upgrade the drinking water system, are also behind the higher rates.
The rate increase is the settlement of a nearly year-long process decided last month between Pittsburgh Water and the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, which regulates the authority. Pittsburgh Water originally asked for a steeper increase to the base rates over multiple years.
For lower income customers, the increase is smaller and for some, a slight decrease from their current rate. For example, the average monthly bill for households below 50% of the federal poverty line would see an increase from $20.88 to $21.01, while those between 50% and 100% of the federal poverty line would see a decrease in the average monthly bill from $49.94 to $42.51.
In 2027, Pittsburgh Water’s base rates will stay the same, but they’re changing the structure of how they bill. Right now, they charge a fixed fee for the first 1,000 gallons of water consumed by residential customers. Next year, that fixed amount is going away, “and that will allow low water users to drive down their bill,” according to Pickering.
The new Highland Reservoir pump station in Highland Park, is set to start pumping in a few weeks. The upgrade should result in more steady water pressure in that service area.
And Pittsburgh Water is at work removing all of their lead service lines and is on track to do so by the end of 2027, “which is going to be a major accomplishment that not many cities our size would be able to point to,” Pickering said.