Greenwich Customers of Aquarion Water Company Get 5.6% Cut in Rate

Aquarion Water Company, which serves Greenwich, announced Thursday that all customers are getting a 5.6 percent “rate credit” on bills for the next three years, due to revisions in federal tax law which benefit the company.

The utility is passing on the $29 million in savings to customers and also delaying proposals to increase rates, although it offered no details on that in its announcement.

The Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority has approved the lower rates, which apply as of Jan. 1.

Here’s the company’s announcement:

Aquarion Water Company today announced that beginning Jan. 1, 2015, rate credits for all Connecticut customers have been initiated. Customers will receive a rate credit of 5.6% on their billing statements, effective for the next three years. In addition to the rate credit, Aquarion will also be delaying its next general rate case.

Recently issued tax law regulations by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have resulted in a refund to the company, and Aquarion is passing this refund on to customers. The total amount to be returned to customers through rate credits is $29 million.

“Aquarion is committed to providing our customers with safe, high quality water and excellent customer service,” said Charles V. Firlotte, Aquarion President and CEO. “As a result of this federal tax rebate and the new regulations, we have been able to pass on savings to our customers and delay our next scheduled rate application to PURA, which means greater stability for our customers’ water rates.”

These regulations effectively allow Aquarion to adopt an alternative to how capital expenditures are treated for income tax purposes. The Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) reviewed and approved Aquarion’s proposal before it was finalized.

“While we are lowering water bills for our customers, we will continue to make prudent investments to improve and maintain the integrity of our system’s infrastructure,” said Firlotte. “Customers should also continue to employ water conservation measures. While their water bills are lower, the overall water supply is still finite and it is more important than ever to conserve it.”

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