Scranton, Dunmore mayors seek local hearing on water company rate increases

SCRANTON — Scranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti and Dunmore Mayor Max Conway have asked the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to hold a public hearing in Scranton on Pennsylvania American Water’s proposed rate increase, they jointly announced Friday.

Pennsylvania American Water filed on Nov. 14 with the PUC a rate hike request ranging from $120 to $240 more per year, depending on whether a customer receives water or wastewater service or both.

The rate increases on typical customers would include:

• Water: $168 a year ($14 per month).

• Wastewater: $120 a year ($10 per month).

• Combined water/wastewater: $240 a year ($20 per month).

The water company proposes no change to wastewater rates for Scranton wastewater customers.

If approved, rate hikes would take effect in August 2026.

“Both Scranton and Dunmore residents, businesses, and community organizations are keenly interested in the potential impacts of the proposed increase,” Cognetti and Conway wrote in a Nov. 24 letter to the PUC. “A Scranton-based hearing will promote robust, representative input from our community and help inform a complete record.”