Elizabethtown Water Co. has asked the state Board of Public Utilities for an 18 percent across-the-board increase.
By: Gwen Runkle and Nick D’Amore
Water users in Monroe and Cranbury may be forced to pay more for the water it buys from Elizabethtown Water Company next year.
That’s because the Bridgewater-based firm has asked the state Board of Public Utilities for an 18 percent across-the-board rate hike for its residential and commercial customers in 2002.
The hike could affect water users in more than 40 municipalities across New Jersey, including those in Monroe, Cranbury and South Brunswick.
The BPU will hold hearings Thursday at two locations 1 p.m. at the Bridgewater Municipal Building in Somerset County and 7:30 p.m. at the Westfield Municipal Building in Union County.
The entire process of hearings and negotiations could take about nine to 12 months, Ms. Reilly said.
The hike could affect water users in Monroe and Cranbury.
The Monroe Township Municipal Utility Authority purchases 15 percent of its water from Elizabethtown and the rest from wells in the township.
Residents in Cranbury are served directly by Elizabethtown.
The rate hike has area officials up in arms. Monroe has agreed to join a coalition of 11 municipalities in Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset Counties in an attempt to stop the increase.
"We asked other communities that will be affected to participate with us to develop a strategy to combat the increase," said Ron Schmalz, public affairs coordinator for South Brunswick, which is spearheading the fight. "We want to come out united against the increase."
Mike Rogers, executive director of the MTMUA, said they will most likely join the coalition.
"We have to hire an attorney and determine how we will split the bills," he said.
Mr. Rogers said the rate would force MTMUA to increase rates.
"I think it’s unnecessary. They’ve got the same expanding customer base we have and we haven’t had to raise rates in the past 11 years," he said
Mr. Rogers added that the company had said it would not raise rates after it was acquired by Thames of England, the third largest water company in the world
"They got this big infusion of money when they were bought out by Thames. As part of that, when that acquisition approved, they said that this would avoid any rate increases in future," he said.
Cranbury Mayor Michael Mayes said the rate hike was definitely something the township would look into.
"Eighteen percent is fairly exorbitant and it’s something the township doesn’t have direct influence over," he said, adding that the town may also consider joining the coalition.
Under the proposed rate hike, the average residential customer using 2,800 cubic feet, or 20,994 gallons of water, per quarter would pay $89.91 per quarter, an increase of $13.71 per quarter from the current average bill of $76.20.
Elizabethtown Water Co. hopes to institute the new rate in March 2002 after review and approval from the state Board of Public Utilities. The rate increase is expected to generate an increase in annual revenues of $24 million for the company, according to Elizabethtown spokeswoman Erin Reilly said.
She said the increase will affect all customers.
The company says the 18 percent increase is necessary to pay for $234 million in capital expenditures it made since rates were last raised in 1996.
"In 1996 we increased the rates (20.35 percent) because we opened a new water-treatment plant in Somerset County," said Ms. Reilly.
The capital expenditures it has made since 1996 include the opening of a new distribution center in Belle Mead, repairs to water tanks throughout the company’s service area, installation of a new customer-care computer system and various installations of service lines or improvements to existing service lines, Ms. Reilly said.
Elizabethtown Water Company provides retail water service to individual customers in 48 municipalities in Mercer, Somerset, Middlesex, Hunterdon, Morris and Union counties among them Cranbury and a small portion of South Brunswick.
The company also sells water wholesale to municipalities, including South Brunswick, the Monroe Township Utilities Authority, Lawrence Water Company, Middlesex Water Company, the New Jersey America Water Company and Rahway Water Company.
"I am sure some of our municipalities won’t be happy about the rate increase, but we haven’t applied for one since 1996, so it’s definitely time," Ms. Reilly said. "Our service territories are growing rapidly. The increase is necessary to keep up with this growth. I think most municipalities realize that."
The municipalities asked to join the coalition are Princeton Township, Montgomery, Branchburg, Bridgewater, Plainsboro, Edison, Lawrence, Franklin, Monroe, West Windsor and Hillsborough, Mr. Schmalz said.

