Pennsylvania-American Water Company

Provider briefing

How this utility’s billing works

Pennsylvania-American Water Company operates as a private investor-owned utility serving More than 400 Pennsylvania communities and assigned water/wastewater rate zones across the Commonwealth, including Pittsburgh, Scranton, Harrisburg, York, Reading-area, and suburban service territories. Customers should use the provider’s current account-specific bill and official customer-service instructions as the final authority for deadlines, balances, and service requests.

The published water-rate framework is described as PUC-regulated rate-zone pricing with a monthly meter-size service charge, uniform volumetric usage rates within most zones, and infrastructure or other approved surcharges such as DSIC. Current majority Rate Zone 1 residential rates effective August 7, 2024 are $18.80 per month for a 5/8- or 3/4-inch meter and $1.8772 per 100 gallons for the first 16,000 gallons and over that amount. Other water zones, recent acquisitions, exempt classes, and the approved August 13, 2026 rate change can differ; the company’s current rate page lists ten water zones and directs customers to the applicable tariff.. Bills are generated monthly for the majority of customers and current rate zone 1 residential service, based on monthly meter readings. certain acquired or assigned rate-zone systems can be monthly or bimonthly, and special wastewater or availability charges can follow separate schedules. bills are based on the customer’s meter or sewage flow and the rate zone shown in the bill’s account messages., and a typical residential cost reference is For the current majority Rate Zone 1 residential schedule, a 5/8-inch account using 5,000 gallons per month is approximately $18.80 fixed plus $93.86 usage, or $112.66 for base water. A 5,000-gallon month with the listed Rate Zone 1 metered wastewater charge is approximately $15.00 fixed plus $147.70 usage, or $162.70 wastewater, for an indicative combined total of about $275.36 before DSIC, local taxes, other surcharges, or service-area adjustments. At 7,000 gallons the same illustrative calculation is about $150.20 water plus $221.77 wastewater, or $371.97. These are benchmarks, not a universal statewide bill; the current 2026 approved rate increase and assigned zone control the actual amount.. These descriptions are useful planning benchmarks; actual charges can change with meter size, usage, sewer averaging, local taxes, drought stages, or account-specific fees.

Wastewater and sewer calculation

Pennsylvania American Water bills wastewater by water usage or measured sewage flow, with a monthly service charge per equivalent dwelling unit. The current majority Rate Zone 1 residential schedule is $15.00 per month plus $2.9539 per 100 gallons, while unmetered wastewater is $110 per EDU per month; other wastewater zones and recently acquired systems differ. The tariff generally treats water-meter consumption as the wastewater volume and may calculate unusual or industrial discharges separately. For an undetected, non-surfacing underground leak in a customer water service pipe, the wastewater tariff provides a one-time adjustment equal to 40% of the portion of one month’s consumption above the prior 12-month average after the customer verifies the leak was repaired, with no repeat adjustment at the premises for five years.

Meter and infrastructure notes

The majority of Pennsylvania American Water customers are billed from monthly readings, while some rate-zone schedules allow monthly or bimonthly readings. The company supplies and owns the meter, with the customer responsible for a safe, visible, accessible meter pit and protection from damage. If a bill has been estimated more than twice in a row, customers are instructed to call 800-565-7292 so a technician can inspect the meter technology; customers may also submit a reading. The company’s 2026 capital plan includes $37.2 million for meter technology, including installation of 3,162 new meters and replacement of 45,236 existing meters, but the reviewed Pennsylvania pages do not identify one statewide AMI vendor or hourly transmission interval.