Rate proposals from two local water and sewer utilities are currently pending before the West Virginia Public Service Commission (PSC). The Observer’s review of these proposals highlights how the utilities’ different approaches to paying for their infrastructure affect the bills paid by consumers.
The CTUB Approach — Developers Pay To Connect
The Charles Town Utility Board (CTUB) provides water and sewer service within the city limits and sewer-only service to Ranson and nearby areas of the county. It operates under a principle of “growth pays for growth” and it charges up-front fees for developers to connect to its systems.
CTUB has proposed increasing the “capacity improvement fee” it charges for new construction to connect to both its water and sewer systems. The proposed fee change would reduce the water connection fee and increase the sewer connection fee, based on projections for the cost of providing the capacity to service those connections.
For new construction that connects to both CTUB water and sewer, the proposed fee changes largely offset each other, resulting in little net change to the total connection cost. However, for sewer-only connections — in other words, for new construction that receives water service from West Virginia American Water (WVAW) — the sewer connection fee would roughly double.
The WVAW Approach — Customers Pay The Bill
West Virginia American Water provides water-only service in Ranson and nearby areas of the county. The company currently has two increases under review. The first, filed in May 2025, proposes a two-step increase for its water service rates:
- A 15.1 percent increase effective March 2026
- A 5.7 percent increase effective March 2027
In a separate filing to the PSC in June 2025, WVAW also requested an increase in the “distribution system improvement fee,” an additional surcharge above the water service rates it charges all customers.
WVAW operates across the state with a single tariff, spreading the cost of all of its system upgrades across its entire customer base. Since it does not charge developers up front, the company is allowed to recover the cost of all system improvements directly from its customers through its monthly billing.
PSC Allows Utilities Cover Their Investments
The PSC allows utilities to recover the cost of building, maintaining, and operating their systems but does not mandate a specific method for allocating those costs.
CTUB’s approach places a greater share of system expansion costs on new development, resulting in lower ongoing costs for existing customers. WVAW’s approach spreads infrastructure costs over time but places a larger burden on monthly bills paid by customers.
The WVAW rate proposal is being reviewed by the PSC under its general oversight authority. The PSC is reviewing the CTUB fee proposal in response to a complaint filed by two development companies. The PSC is expected to issue final decisions in both cases within the next few months.
Tariff Summaries
Links to WV Public Service Commission tariff summaries (as of December 2025):
Harper Ferry-Bolivar: Water — Sewer
Berkely Springs: Water — Sewer
Berkeley County: Water — Sewer
WV American Water: Water — Sewer
By Steve Pearson