APPLE VALLEY, CA, May 19, 2017 (PRESS RELEASE): In accordance with its long-standing practice and in an effort to keep citizens informed about water rates in the Town and in nearby areas, the Town of Apple Valley today made public a chart comparing water rates.
Once again, the amount charged by Liberty Utilities was significantly higher than the amount charged by competitors in the Town, and by water companies run by nearby cities. In some cases, Liberty Utilities is charging residents over twice as much for the same quantity as water when compared to other water utilities.
For example, the monthly charge for 16.45 hundred cubic feet of water, the amount historically used by a typical Apple Valley citizen in one month, costs $92.43 for a Liberty customer; $78.32 for a Golden State Water customer; $53.42 for a City of Victorville customer; $41.44 for a Helendale Community Services District customer; $38.63 for a City of Hesperia customer; and $34.70 for customers of County Service Area 64.
The bills received by customers of the privately owned utilities (i.e. Liberty and Golden State) will actually be higher because the Town’s comparison did not include additional California Public Utilities Commission fees and surcharges. For example, the chart does not factor in the 1.44% user fee paid to the California Public Utilities Commission.
The CPUC predicts a usage of 12.64 hundred cubic feet of water. At that usage, the average monthly charge looks like this: Liberty – $74.61; Golden State – $62.16; City of Victorville – $47.59; Helendale Community Services District – $37.82; City of Hesperia – $32.73; and County Service Area 64 – $28.79.
“The updated water rate comparison chart proves what the Town Council has been hearing for the past several years. Liberty is charging far more for water than any of its competitors in the Town or in nearby communities,” said Mayor Scott Nassif. “We cannot understand and Liberty has never adequately explained why it charges our citizens so much more for water.”
Town Manager Frank Robinson said, “The chart does not even show the additional charges for and the countless surcharges imposed by Liberty Utilities. The burden on our residents is far too great.”
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