Pittsburg, PA
Pittsburgh residents could soon see an increase in their water bill, here’s why.
That simple sound of water running from your sink is something most of us don’t think twice about. But starting March 8th, every time you turn that handle, it’s going to cost a little more.
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission has approved a rate settlement for Pittsburgh Water totaling about $25 million across water, wastewater, and stormwater services.
The good news is that it’s significantly lower than the original rate increase request.
So, what does that mean for you?
A typical residential customer will see about a $15 increase per month, roughly a 10% increase.
“Especially with recent times, things just keep getting more expensive. Especially for a lot of people like me who are post-grad working jobs, it’s hard to pay the bills sometimes,” said resident Ethan Snyder.
But for customers enrolled in the bill discount program, the impact will be much smaller.
Pittsburgh Water CEO Will Pickering said the settlement strikes a balance.
“The PUC-approved settlement balances necessary investment in Pittsburgh’s water, wastewater, and stormwater systems with meaningful protections for customers,” said Pickering.
The additional revenue will go toward expanding assistance programs and upgrading aging water, wastewater, and stormwater systems.
“If it’s able to help balance that out, I can see why it would be beneficial for support in our community and residents that live here,” said Snyder.
There are also long-term changes included.
The settlement eliminates a planned 2027 base rate increase and begins phasing out the minimum charge, giving customers more control over their bills based on actual usage.
It also expands the hardship fund, adds deeper low-income discounts, and will automatically enroll eligible customers in an unpaid bill forgiveness program starting this fall.
Pittsburgh Water will also face stricter service standards and additional reporting requirements on stormwater projects
Last year, Americans received nearly 30 billion scam robocalls and text messages. Now, leaders in Pennsylvania are taking a new approach to try to crack down on them.
“It’s not just certain audiences that are targeted in this space. It’s really everybody,” said Kate Sullivan, CEO of Better Business Bureau of Western Pennsylvania. “Robocalling is just faster and more aggressive than it’s ever been,” Sullivan said.
The prevalence, exacerbated by artificial intelligence, is why 49 attorneys general across the country sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission to strengthen its rules to prevent scammers from accessing legitimate phone numbers.
“You have individuals that will purchase maybe 100,000 different phone numbers,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday said. “Those numbers will land somewhere where you have a nefarious actor who will use those numbers to do the robocalls.”
Sunday is part of the Anti-Robocall Task Force, along with West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey. Last year, the coalition sent warning letters to major phone service providers to stop allowing illegal robocalls to reach consumers. Now they’re building on this by going directly to the FCC.
“The consumer matters, and we want to make sure that our constituents, the consumers that are in our states’ voices, are being heard at the highest level as loudly as they can be,” McCuskey said.
Sunday said they want to put more onus on companies to not sell these numbers, and if they do, to have documentation that can be provided to law enforcement so they can trace back and hold the scammers accountable.
KDKA-TV reached out to the FCC for comment. A spokesperson said in part that they “welcome this input from state leaders.” They also mentioned, “The Commission proposed expanding certification and disclosure requirements to all providers that receive telephone numbering resources… to stop scammers from exploiting gaps in the system.”
“Getting ahead of it and more protections for the consumers, I think, does have quite a bit of value,” Sullivan said.
As for what you can do, the BBB and AGs said it’s better to let a robocall go to voicemail. If you decline it, that indicates you’re a real person and may get more calls. Also, make sure to report robocalls to the BBB or the Federal Trade Commission.
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