Beckley, WV (WOAY) – The Public Service Commission held an evidentiary hearing at the Tamarack Conference Center in Beckley on Wednesday over a proposed rate increase for Beckley Water Company, which serves more than 22,000 customers across Raleigh and Fayette counties.
Beckley Water initially sought a 22.7% rate increase. PSC staff ultimately recommended an 11.78% increase, roughly $2 million, about half of what the company originally sought. For the average residential customer, the recommended increase comes out to about $4.50 per month.
Before the evidentiary hearing, the PSC opened the floor to public comment. Residents lined up to speak, with concerns centering on aging infrastructure, work left half-done, frequent outages and water quality.
Community advocate Christina Baisden was among those who addressed the commission.
“We’re not seeing improvement in infrastructure. We’re not seeing improvement in water quality. We’re not seeing improvement in their employee retainment. What is their incentive to actually do these things?” Baisden said.
Baisden also raised concerns about the ripple effect rate increases have on customers’ other utility bills.
“A $5 rate increase here with Beckley Water will give them an increase in their sewer. So it’s just a snowball effect,” she said.
In the evidentiary hearing, Beckley Water financial controller Drew Wooldridge defended the rate request, citing a consistent staffing shortage of six to ten workers. Wooldridge called a rate increase “a step in the right direction” toward addressing the problem. He also disclosed that Beckley Water loses about 25% of its water through its own distribution system, ten points above the PSC’s standard.
On water quality complaints, the company said the issue is not entirely within its control, maintaining that its water meets standards up to the end of its meters and pointing to secondary distributors for problems beyond that point.
West Virginia State Sen. Rollan Roberts, who represents District 9, said that explanation left him frustrated.
“Their water up to their meter is tested and proper. And it’s these secondary wholesale or retailers or whatever that their product, they have the problems, and Beckley Water isn’t the problem. So I told them, then you need to communicate that, because I’m mad at you when I should be mad at somebody else. But I don’t even know who to get mad at now, because it’s all confused,” Roberts said.
Roberts also pushed back on the scope of what the rate increase would fund.
“I don’t like the fact that this rate increase did not include infrastructure of any kind. I didn’t hear anything about improving the system where they’re just putting Band-Aids and patching all over the place. I didn’t hear anything about that,” he said.
The PSC has not issued a final order. When it does, Beckley Water’s more than 22,000 customers will find out how much their monthly bill will change.
