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Water And Wastewater Rates
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2011
Water And Wastewater Rates [Abstract] 
Water and Wastewater Rates

Note 9                         Water and Wastewater Rates

 

During the first nine months of 2011, the Company's operating divisions in North Carolina, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Maine, were granted base rate increases designed to increase total operating revenues on an annual basis by $6,087.

 

During the first nine months of 2011, the Company's operating division in Pennsylvania received infrastructure rehabilitation surcharges of $13,150. Infrastructure rehabilitation surcharges are capped as a percentage of base rates, generally at 5% to 9% of base rates, and are 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.

 

In October 2010, the Company's operating subsidiary in Texas began to bill interim rates for one of its divisions in accordance with authorization from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality ("TCEQ"). The additional revenue billed and collected prior to the TCEQ'S final ruling is subject to refund based on the outcome of the rate case. The rate case is expected to conclude with the issuance of an order in the fourth quarter of 2011. However, based on the Company's review of the rate proceeding during the third quarter of 2011, a revenue reserve was removed and additional operating revenues were recognized of $3,098. As of September 30, 2011, to date we have recognized $6,195 of revenue that is subject to refund based on the outcome of the final commission order. Based on the Company's review of the present circumstances, a reserve is not considered necessary for the revenue recognized to date.