SCRANTON — Two Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission judges heard arguments Thursday for and against Pennsylvania American Water Co.’s proposed rate hikes ranging from $120 to $240 more per year, depending on whether a customer receives water or wastewater service or both.
Several local elected officials and residents urged the PUC to reduce the proposed rate hike, generally saying water and sewer customers are already tapped out from prior recent rate increases and the company should use its profits to pay for system improvements.
But others, including representatives of several area contractors, vendors and organizations that do business with PAW, and a resident, spoke in favor of the water company’s rate request. Acknowledging that upgrades can be costly, they generally said there is a dire need for modernizing antiquated water and sewer systems; and they also described PAW as an industry leader in practices and operations.
PUC Adminstrative Law Judges Jeff Watson and Emily DeVoe presided over the afternoon hearing that lasted 2½ hours and had a crowd of about 80 people at the University of Scranton’s Brennan Hall. A second hearing was set for 6 p.m. Thursday at the same location.
During the afternoon session, PAW attorney Teresa Harrold said the company understands “that any rate increase is challenging to a household budget,” but the company has a responsibility to provide safe and reliable water service to its customers and affordability is always considered.
Scranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti, Dunmore Mayor Max Conway, Lackawanna County Commissioners Bill Gaughan and Thom Welby, and state Reps. Jim Haddock, D-118, Pittston Twp., Kyle Donahue, D-113, Scranton, and Bridget Kosierowski, D-114, Waverly Twp., all spoke against the rate hike.
Haddock urged the PUC judges “to take a very hard look” at the “whopping” increase sought, in light of recent back-to-back rate hikes in 2023 and 2024, and PAW’s “track record of 18 straight years of dividend increases” to shareholders, and, “here we are two short years later back at the table.”
Donahue said: “Repeated steep hikes place a disproportionate burden” on households, while shareholders are “insulated” from financial loss. Kosierowski also told the judges to remember that the request would pass the cost onto seniors on fixed incomes.
Noting the PUC slashed PAW’s last rate request in half, Gaughan said, “Why should the public trust that this one is reasonable?”
Resident Harry Jadick of Green Ridge said he believes, “The company is very strong and can afford these investments they are making” without a rate increase.
But Darren Snyder of Wilkes-Barre, a licensed real estate broker and ratepayer, urged the judges to approve the request, because improvements are necessary and he does not want any decrease in water service or his children drinking contaminated water.
A.J. Kochanski of Mountain Top, a contractor with RLE Enterprises, said, “As a (water) customer, my water experience has been nothing but positive … they go above and beyond.”
Ellen Ferretti, the executive director of the nonprofit North Branch Land Trust, which has worked with PAW to conserve watershed land, also said the company “has been a good community partner.”
Cost to ratepayers
Pennsylvania American Water serves 682,000 water customers and 97,000 wastewater customers in 37 counties across the state. The water company proposes an overall increase of $168.7 million (about 14.6%) in total annual operating revenues for water and wastewater service. According to a PUC announcement Monday about the upcoming hearings, the rate increases sought include:
• Water: For a typical residential water customer using 3,263 gallons a month, an increase ranging from $2.73 per month to $27.77 per month, an increase between 9.8% and 41.14%, depending on their service area. In a November announcement, the water company estimated the water increase for a typical customer at $168 a year, or $14 per month.
• Wastewater: For a typical wastewater customer using 3,164 gallons a month, an increase ranging from $0 per month to $26.29 per month, an increase between 0% and 54.14%, depending on their service area. The PAW estimate for a typical customer was $120 a year, or $10 per month.
• Combined water/wastewater: $240 a year, or $20 per month. The water company proposes no change to wastewater rates for Scranton wastewater customers.
System improvements
The announcement said the increases would support $1.2 billion in ongoing water and wastewater service system investments through mid-2027 for more than 2.4 million people served statewide; as well as a new summer wastewater billing adjustment and a renter assistance pilot to expand an existing affordability program.
The investment will replace 117 miles of aging water main, continue eliminating lead service lines, and address emerging contaminants such as PFAS in drinking water; and also support wastewater system upgrades, including replacement of 32 miles of aging sewer mains.
The rate request also includes:
• A “deduct adjustment” that calculates summertime wastewater charges based on a customer’s average winter water usage when outdoor use is typically low. The adjustment excluding seasonal outdoor uses such as lawn watering and car washing would provide a more accurate representation of water entering the wastewater system.
• A Renter Assistance Pilot Program to support low-income renters in master-metered buildings who are currently excluded from traditional utility aid. The pilot program would provide quarterly stipends for participating customers in Scranton and Butler, reflecting the company’s existing discount levels.
Additional details about the company’s filing are available at www.amwater.com/paaw/FromTreatmentToTap.
A final PUC decision on the rate increase request is due by Aug. 13.
Other hearings
This pair of hearings in Scranton, the only sessions in Northeast Pennsylvania on this rate case, were among 10 in-person hearings scheduled in pairs in four locations throughout the state, all also at 1 and 6 p.m. each day. The first pair of in-person hearings was held Tuesday in the city of Washington, southwest of Pittsburgh. The others will be held Friday in Harrisburg; Jan. 20 near Reading; and Jan. 29 in Coatesville.
Preregistration is not required to attend an in-person hearing.
The PUC also plans a pair of telephonic hearings for Wednesday, Jan. 21, at 1 and 6 p.m. Preregistration is encouraged for participating in telephonic hearings. For information on participating, visit puc.pa.gov.
Scranton mayor Paige Cognetti testifies during the one o’clock Public Utility Commission hearing at the University of Scranton on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Dunmore mayor Max Conway testifies during the one o’clock Public Utility Commission hearing at the University of Scranton on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Wilkes-Barre real estate broker Darren Snyder testifies during the one o’clock Public Utility Commission hearing at the University of Scranton on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Dunmore resident Harry Jadick testifies during the one o’clock Public Utility Commission hearing at the University of Scranton on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton resident Doris Koloski testifies during the one o’clock Public Utility Commission hearing at the University of Scranton on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Pittston mayor Michael Lombardo testifies during the one o’clock Public Utility Commission hearing at the University of Scranton on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
State Rep. Jim Haddock testifies during the one o’clock Public Utility Commission hearing at the University of Scranton on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Community leaders and members list to testimonies during the one o’clock Public Utility Commission hearing regarding Pennsylvania American Water Company’s proposed rate hikes at the University of Scranton on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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Scranton mayor Paige Cognetti testifies during the one o’clock Public Utility Commission hearing at the University of Scranton on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)