American Water Rates to Increase

A rate hike is set to kick in by Oct. 1 for customers of the Illinois American Water company.

The Illinois Commerce Commission approved the new rate this week, which is expected to generate about $18 million in additional revenue for the utility company.

American Water spokeswoman Karen Cotton said the company was hoping for a rate increase that could generate much more revenue, but she said the utility company respects the ICC’s decision

“It could impact the company’s ability to attract capital for important infrastructure projects," she said. "We’re working through this to see what kind of impact there will be, but customer service is our number one priority, and our customers won’t see any impact to their customer service.”

Cotton said the impact of the rate increase will vary across the state, but she said residential water bills are expected to go up by just under $3 a month.

That additional revenue, she said, will help address infrastructure upgrades, like pipe improvements. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the country’s water utilities need to make more than $335 billion in infrastructure investments over the next 20 years.