17414_Authority_April_2024

26 The Authority | APRIL 2024 Pa. Senate Committee Scrutinizes Water Privatization in Philly Suburbs Critics of Act 12 say since its adoption in 2016, for-profit water companies have lured municipalities into massive deals at the expense of the ratepayer. Local water officials and residents alike filled the conference room in West Whiteland and placed signs in the first few seats calling for an appeal of Act 12. (Photo: Kenny Cooper/WHYY) By Kenny Cooper, WHYY As private water companies continue to acquire more public water systems in Pennsylvania, state lawmakers are scrutinizing a 2016 amendment to the Public Utility Code, also known as Act 12. The law outlines a negotiating framework to determine the value of a public water system including assets, predicted revenue, and expected repair costs. Critics of the law say since its passage, water companies have seized the attention of local officials by dangling massive short-term acquisition prices, buoying a locality’s purse in the short term — but harming the ratepayer in the long run with price hikes and leaving residents disillusioned with the process. “All the consequences of Act 12 derived from the simple fact that Act 12 has given the green light for private utilities to lure local municipalities into deals that are bad for their residents who are then left to pay the bill,” said Peter Mrozinski, a co-founder of Keep Water Affordable. At a Senate Democratic Policy Committee hearing Monday in West Whiteland Township, Chester County, two panels of advocates, experts, and impacted residents debated Act 12’s impact on skyrocketing rate hikes and discussed legislative changes to remedy the situation. “The fight we’ve been involved in here in southeastern Pennsylvania ultimately revolves around one fundamental question,” said David McMahon, of Neighbor’s Opposing Privatization Efforts (NOPE), to a full room of spectators. “Who does the world’s water belong to?” McMahon said Act 12 has made it too easy to take what was once a public resource, and put it in the hands of profit- making companies. Suburban Philadelphia is a hot spot for water privatization including Aqua Pennsylvania’s takeover of Willistown Township’s sewer system in 2022 and Pennsylvania American Water’s acquisition of Upper Pottsgrove’s wastewater system in 2020. The trend spans state lines, and more than two dozen public water suppliers have been bought by Continued on page 50.