January 18th, 2022 by WCBC Radio
The Maryland Public Service Commission will hold two virtual public comment hearings on the request by Maryland Water Service, Inc. to increase its rates by nearly $2 million—or more than 103 percent over current revenues. The utility’s customers and other interested parties are welcome to take part in the hearings which are scheduled for Thursday, January 27, 2022 and Tuesday, February 8, 2022. Public Utility Law Judge Kristin Case Lawrence will preside over both hearings which will start at 6:30 p.m. Each hearing will begin with a presentation by Maryland Water Service.
The private company, a subsidiary of Illinois-based Corix Regulated Utilities, Inc., operates five water and wastewater companies in three Maryland counties. MWS serves more than 3,500 water customers and provides sewage disposal to more than 1,000 customers. As proposed, the rate increases would result in bill impacts ranging from 30 percent (Green Ridge and Lakeside Vista) to 255 percent (Provinces). The company says it needs the additional revenue to recover its costs of providing service to customers and to earn a fair rate of return on its investor-supplied capital. MWS also seeks to consolidate its water rates into a uniform rate schedule across all its water systems.
Maryland Water Service systems include:
● Pinto Water and Wastewater Systems and the Highland Estates Water System in Cumberland (Allegany County)
● Provinces Water System in Severn (Anne Arundel County)
● Green Ridge Water System in Bel Air (Harford County) and
● Lakeside Vista Water System in Joppa (Harford County).
Members of the public who wish to speak at one or both of the hearings can sign up by sending an email to psc.pulj@gmail.com by 12 noon the day before. The hearings will be held on the Webex platform and participants will receive an email with the link to join in. For those who just want to watch the hearings, they will be simultaneously livestreamed on the Public Utility Law Judge’s YouTube channel (MD PSC PULJs): https://bit.ly/2X6wLiP
In addition to the hearings, written comments can be submitted electronically through the Commission’s online portal at https://www.psc.state.md.us/make-a-public-comment/ Comments can also be sent by mail and should be addressed to: Andrew Johnston, Executive Secretary, Maryland Public Service Commission, William Donald Schaefer Tower, 6 St. Paul Street, 16th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202. So that they are noted in the proper case file, all comments should reference Case No. 9671 and should be sent by February 25, 2022.
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