Pasadena Water and Power Raises Rates 

Pasadena Water and Power increased charges to better align rates with the actual costs of delivering water.

• The Distribution and Customer (D&C) charge covers operational costs, distribution system maintenance, metering upgrades, customer service and billing.
• The Fire Protection Surcharge (FPS) is required to maintain, repair, install and upgrade public fire hydrants.

“While PWP has had only one water rate adjustment for fixed costs over the past 13 years, our operational and maintenance costs have grown steadily,” explains Assistant General Manager Shari Thomas. “We’ve been utilizing our reserve funds to maintain our high standard of service, but this is not a long-term solution.”

To correct this imbalance and ensure continued reliable service, PWP increased both the D&C and FPS charges on July 1, 2009, and will increase the D&C charge once more on July 1, 2010.

PWP also restructured the current water rate “blocks,” or tiers, to better reflect actual water supply and costs. In a block rate structure, the more water a customer uses, the higher the rate he pays. The new structure would lower the threshold for charging higher rates. The purpose of the restructure is to send price signals that encourage water efficiency and conservation while providing sufficient revenue to ensure an adequate supply of water. For more on the new block rates click here

"If you’re already conserving water, or you plan to conserve, you will have a distinct advantage with the new structure,” Shari said. For a better idea of how the block restructure and fixed-rate charge increases would affect bills, customers can use an on-line bill estimator, now available at www.PWPweb.com.
 
Customers can find complete details on the water rate increases at www.cityofpasadena.net/savewater or by calling PWP Customer Service staff at (626) 744-4005.