Suffolk water authority customers facing 4.7% rate, service-charge increases June 1
A Suffolk County Water Authority water tower in Center Moriches, Nov. 24, 2015. by Ed Betz Credit: Ed Betz
Suffolk County Water Authority customers face 4.7% rate and service-charge increases starting June 1, as the county’s largest water provider continues to garner relatively low scores in a national ranking of customer satisfaction.
Average residential customers will see an overall bill increase of $1.73 a month, the authority said.
The increases, which are higher than last year’s 4% jump, were cited by the J.D. Power consumer research firm for generally lower customer satisfaction scores across the country.
The Suffolk authority’s board on March 31 approved a $1.40 increase in customers’ quarterly service charge, to $30.57 every three months, from a current $29.17, a 4.79% jump.
The standard water consumption rate is also going up, to $1.661 per centi-cubic foot from a current $1.586 per CCF, a 4.7% jump. That translates to a 10-cent increase for every thousand gallons, to $2.22 from a current $2.12 per thousand gallons, the authority said.
And the conservation rate, which is triggered when customers use more than 89,760 gallons per quarter, will increase to $2.38 per CCF, from a current $2.289, for those who use more than 120 CCF in a single billing quarter. That translates to an increase of 14 cents per thousand gallons for amounts above the threshhold, to $3.20 per thousand gallons, from a current $3.06, the authority said. Around a quarter of the utility’s 400,000 customers triggered the conservation rate in 2020.
The utility's water quality and treatment charge remains unchanged at $20 per quarter.
Last year, average Suffolk Water Authority bills jumped just over 4%, the utility said, following a year in which 7,441 customers filed complaints about high bills. The utility cited those complaints, most of which were logged during the higher summer usage period, in resetting the trigger for the conservation rate somewhat higher, and moderating overall increases from those recommended by its consultants.
For two years in a row in the J.D. Power survey of large and mid-size water utilities across the county, the Suffolk County Water Authority has finished third from last among its nine large Northeast peers, with a score of 719 out of 1,000. New York City water customers, by comparison, scored their utility 763, and New Jersey American Water scored 752.
Andrew Heath, senior director of utilities intelligence at J.D. Power, in a statement noted that rate relief measures enacted during the early days of the pandemic have largely expired, “just as the forces of inflation have driven a significant increase in the monthly bills of residential customers.”
Accordingly, he said, customer satisfaction “has declined in every factor of the study, as the average monthly water utility bill in the U.S. is now up $5.73 from 2020 — without a corresponding increase in consumption.”
Heath, in an email, said price wasn’t the only factor keeping Suffolk’s score low.
“Suffolk County is below the regional average for satisfaction in four of the six factors that drive overall satisfaction," he said. "This includes price satisfaction … but it’s not the only cause of dissatisfaction.”
Suffolk County Water Authority spokesman Tim Motz said, "We certainly understand why customer satisfaction across the water supply industry would be impacted by rising water rates caused by rising costs during the pandemic, but we continue to maintain water rates that are among the lowest in the region and always strive to keep them that way.”
Of the 90 water utilities surveyed across the county, Suffolk scored better than 29. The J.D. Power survey, based on interviews with 33,054 customers across the country, is conducted in four waves from June 2021 through March 2022.
New York American Water, which served some 120,000 Nassau customers during the period, isn’t included in the J.D. Power study because its customer base is too small. The company, which was acquired by Liberty Utilities earlier this year, had faced criticism from customers for years about high rates and water quality.
Heath said utilities that want to combat the problem “really need to get serious about proactive customer communications and customer service.”
Mark Harrington, a Newsday reporter since 1999, covers energy, wineries, Indian affairs and fisheries.
