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Rate Matters
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2023
Rate Matters [Abstract]  
Rate Matters
10.  Rate Matters

From time to time, the Company files applications for rate increases with the PPUC and is granted rate relief as a result of such requests.  The most recent rate request was filed by the Company on May 27, 2022 and sought an annual increase in water rates of $18,854 and an annual increase in wastewater rates of $1,457.  Effective March 1, 2023, the PPUC authorized an increase in water rates designed to produce approximately $11,600 in additional annual revenues and an increase in wastewater rates designed to produce approximately $1,900 in additional annual revenues.

The PPUC permits water utilities to collect a distribution system improvement charge, or DSIC. The DSIC allows the Company to add a charge to customers’ bills for qualified replacement costs of certain infrastructure without submitting a rate filing.  This surcharge mechanism typically adjusts periodically based on additional qualified capital expenditures completed or anticipated in a future period.  The DSIC is capped at 5% of base rates, and is reset to zero when new base rates that reflect the costs of those additions become effective or when a utility’s earnings exceed a regulatory benchmark. The DSIC reset to zero when the new base rates took effect March 1, 2023.  The DSIC provided revenues of $249 in 2023 and $2,243 in 2022.  The DSIC is subject to audit by the PPUC.