Press Releases

Contact: Public Relations Department
Suffolk County Water Authority
PO Box 37
Oakdale NY 11769
(631) 563-0296

May 26, 1998
SCWA DROPS PROPOSED RATE HIKE DUE TO LIPA RATE REDUCTION

Suffolk County Water Authority Chairman and CEO Michael LoGrande today announced that a planned 2.5% increase in water rates for the 1998/99 period has been cancelled.

The decision was precipitated by a meeting held by LILCO, Brooklyn Union Gas and LIPA this morning in Hicksville, which LoGrande and his deputies attended. "When we heard Richie Kessel say that the proposed 19.4% rate decrease would take place by Friday, May 29, at the latest, we looked at each other and agreed that we should cancel our proposed rate increase of four cents per thousand gallons," he said.

"Our electric bill is more than one million dollars per month," LoGrande noted. "We didn't plan on getting any rate relief until early 1999. The immediate decrease cancels our need for a rate increase for this year, eliminating the need for a small annual increase of about $6.00 per family."

SCWA Chief Financial Officer Frank Faber said that he had planned a long presentation to the Authority's board of directors this evening justifying increasing the rate from $1.25 to $1.29 per thousand gallons based on the costs associated with a major water quality improvement plan the Authority has adopted as well as a recent union settlement. "The Chairman asked that I present the proposed rate increase tonight as planned but withdraw the four-cent increase as unnecessary," Faber said.

LoGrande stated that the Authority will have a year to see if the rate reductions are fully realized and that "perhaps it will even cover next year," adding, "if every commercial operation would pass the savings along, it could mean a major boost to the Long Island economy. I think we have Governor Pataki, Mr. Kessel and the folks at LILCO and Brooklyn Union Gas to thank for this."

The Suffolk County Water Authority is a public benefit corporation operating by virtue of the Public Authorities law of the State of New York. The Authority is operated solely for the benefit of the customers it serves.