REMINDER: WSSC Rate Structure Public Meetings Start Tonight
Extensive Public Outreach Includes Seven Meetings
OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS AND COMMUNITY RELATIONS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LAUREL, Md. – May 8, 2017: WSSC is engaging in an extensive public outreach campaign to ensure customers are fully aware of plans to change its current rate structure, which is scheduled to be adopted on July 1, 2018. A key component of the outreach efforts includes a series of public meetings to help inform WSSC customers on the rate structures under consideration and the impacts these options have on their water and sewer bill. Three public meetings will be held in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties next week, with four additional meetings scheduled for June.
WHAT
WSSC will host the first of seven rate structure informational meetings next week, which will include a presentation on the options under consideration and time to answer questions. WSSC will host four additional public meetings in June. The same information will be shared at each meeting. The complete schedule of all meetings can be found at www.wsscwater.com/ratestudy.
WHERE & WHEN
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May 8, 2017, 7:30 PM Prince George's County |
May 9, 2017, 7:30 PM Montgomery County |
May 10, 2017, 7:30 PM WSSC |
WHY
The Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) recently ordered WSSC to develop a new rate structure. The PSC ruled that WSSC’s current 16-tier rate structure is unduly preferential to low-usage customers. WSSC’s current rate structure was adopted 25 years ago and needs to be updated to comply with this order and reflect currently available data and costs.
Since last summer,WSSC has been actively engaged in a transparent rate structure study involving input from customers, stakeholders and county government representatives. The new rate structure is intended to better align operational and capital costs with rates. Additionally, a new rate structure will provide a more predictable revenue stream to pay for infrastructure improvements. With more than a third of WSSC water mains over 50 years old, replacing aging infrastructure is key to WSSC’s mission to deliver safe, clean water.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Information on the rate study can be found here: www.wsscwater.com/ratestudy. Those unable to attend the meetings can provide comments to: BudgetGroup@wsscwater.com. WSSC videos promoting the upcoming meetings can be found on the WSSC YouTube Channel (English and Spanish):
For 100 years, WSSC has proudly served the citizens of Prince George’s and Montgomery counties – providing drinking water that has always met strict Safe Drinking Water Act standards and protecting the environment through vital water resource recovery services. Our vision is to be THE world-class water utility, where excellent products and services are always on tap.