I am in favor of HB 420 and HB 422. I am a retired teacher living on a fixed income in a single person household. I have lived in the Lake Land 'Or community in Caroline County since 2002. My water and sewer service was purchased by Aqua Virginia a few years after that. My monthly bills range from $98 to $120 monthly although I feel I am pretty consistent in my use. Like many in my community, I try to limit my water use as the cost is so high. I try to wash only full loads of laundry (approx 3 weekly), run my dishwasher 1 time weekly, limit flushing, rarely use outside water. Lake Land 'Or takes water from a few different wells and the water quality seems to vary from one area to another. Some in my community are afraid to drink their tap water as they feel the quality is poor or downright unsafe. Aqua Virginia's constant requests for rate increases are exhausting and expensive to combat. Limiting these would benefit the customers, their local governments and the SCC. It is also a concern that Aqua is making yet another request while also working on a merge with Virginia American Water. Please vote YES on HB 420 an HB 422

Greetings, I am writing in support of preventing rate increases as an Aqua Virginia customer. In the year of 2025, I spent a total of over $4,000 for their services. During the course of that last year, I have had a broken meter, pressure to purchase an extended warranty due to the potential of deteriorating lines that would then be imposed on me, and brown water. I am already spending close to $200 a month for unreliable and unpredictable water/sewer services. I understand my county cannot provide public services, but I strongly believe that until Aqua Virginia (before or after their merger) show some real upgrades in our deteriorating system AND reliable water we can use, they SHOULD NOT be able to increase their rates for their customers. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Shaun McBride Lake Land Or Resident

My wife and I areresidents of the Lake Monticello development and Aqua Virginia has been our water and sewer provider since 2013 when we bought our home. During that time Aqua has requested at least 3 rate increases with the most recent increase being approved by the VA SCC in 2024. Now Aqua is requesting further increases to take effect in 2026. I want to make 2 points about this request. First off, how is it that Aqua can make new increase requests within a 2 year span? This seems like a waste of taxpayer money and VA SCC resources to have to go through public comment, review, hearings, etc. Why is there no limit on how often a company can bring a rate increase request in front of the VA SCC? Second, since the 2024 rate increase approval there has been a new housing development added to Aqua's water and sewer systems. It is called The Coves at Monticello (https://www.covesatmonticello.com/) and it is higher density housing than the Lake Monticello Development which means that Aqua's infrastructure has to be much cheaper to maintain. By Aqua's own admission they are using the same wells and water treatment plant to service this new development as they are using for the Lake Monticello Development. It would seem to me that given the fact that Aqua is less than a year into servicing this new development they would need more time to understand the financial impact of adding this development to their water/sewer services. There should be some kind of a law that says a company must have at least a couple of years of financials before asking for rate increases after adding a substantial amount of new customers to their service area. Thanks for your time and please do everything possible to pass these bills. The reality is that the VA SCC will approve yet another increase for Aqua and these bills are really our only hope of reigning in these increases.

Dear Nicole Cole, I have been a resident of the Lake Land Or community since 2021. I come from Atlanta where the water bills never exceeded $75 and have been shocked to see the extremely high water bills in Carolina county. Additionally, I am a single retired person who lives alone and I am very frugal with my water consumption. As such, there is absolutely no reason my water bills should be so high. Moreover, the pervasive water quality issues requires that we flush our water heaters more frequently and have to fill the water heaters up again at the consumers cost. I have had several pieces of clothing that have been stained and was told I have an extraordinary amount of calcium and chlorine in my water. I understand that our community has had these issues for years and we have an over aging system that needs repair/replacing. It seems to me that this needs to be done before any work to add infrastructure to our county begins. We have more than paid for updating our current system in our high water bills and shouldn’t be extending any rate hikes to pay for new infrastructure for new residents or businesses. That expenditure should be charged to the new residents and businesses, not the long standing customers that have been over charged for so long. I wholeheartedly support efforts on HB 420 and HB422. Thank you, Sincerely, Sharon R. Dunn

Formal Support for HB 242, HB 420, and HB 422 (Utility Consumer Protections) ​Dear Members of the Committee: ​I am writing to express my strong support for the suite of utility consumer protection bills currently before this committee: HB 242, HB 420, and HB 422. As a resident of Caroline County and a candidate for the Board of Supervisors, I am advocating for these measures to bring much-needed predictability and transparency to our local utility costs. ​HB 242: Stability for Fixed-Income Families ​Many residents in my district utilize "budget plans" to manage their monthly household expenses. When a utility increases these payments mid-cycle without sufficient notice, it creates an immediate financial crisis for those on fixed incomes. HB 242’s requirement for a 30-day written notice and a limit of one increase per 12-month period is a common-sense protection that ensures families aren't blindsided by their basic service costs. ​HB 422: Preventing Rate-Hike Fatigue ​Water and sewer services are non-negotiable essentials. Frequent, year-over-year rate applications make it impossible for families and small businesses to plan their long-term budgets. By establishing a three-year window between general rate increase applications, HB 422 provides a necessary "cooling off" period and encourages utilities to manage their infrastructure costs more efficiently rather than passing them immediately to the consumer. ​HB 420: Ensuring Transparency in Mergers & Sales ​When a utility company is sold or merged, the resulting "synergy savings" should benefit the ratepayers as much as the shareholders. By empowering the SCC to reopen rate cases if a sale occurs within 24 months of an increase, HB 420 ensures that corporate transitions do not become a vehicle for hidden profit at the expense of the public. ​Conclusion: These bills are not just about numbers; they are about the financial dignity of Virginians. We need a utility system that prioritizes stability over volatility. I urge the committee to Report all three bills. ​Respectfully, ​Nicholas J. Broughan Caroline County Resident Candidate for Board of Supervisors, Western Caroline

HB422 I am in support of this bill that prohibits Aqua Virginia from applying for multiple rate increases within a three year period. This limitation will not only help control the tremendous increases in water and sewer rates that Aqua Virginia has already imposed and is in the process of imposing, but would also limit the cost and time associated with having to participate in litigation before the SCC every year. This bill would allow for more predictable rate increases for their customers, if they could only be imposed every three years.

HB420 I want to voice my concern that Aqua Virginia's pending application for a utility rate increase does not address the merger with Virginia American Water that was announced in October 2025, or how this merger will impact rates. By passing this bill, I ask the SCC to reopen the prior rate case to confirm that the merger will have no impact on rates, as is required by law.

We want to keep and maintain bills affordable for homeowners.

Respectfully request and appreciate denying any future rate increases to Aqua: 1) just in past few years granted increase, with no data to indicate quality improvement to users 2) with Aquas merger announced and "pending" is it in the best interests of the consumer to bear burden of additional costs of unknowns when quality at present is at best poor to moderately fair at best? 3) if merger is accepted, will consumers then be subject to another rate increase? It appears that valuable data, evidence and performance do not align and we, the consumers are bearing the $$$ for lack of transparency and reliable service and performance . It's time to to STOP, please. Best regards Ms V Ross Aqua customer, Caroline County VA

Comments Document

Please let me share my personal story with you as a concerned citizen. I would like a zoom call to express the inconveniences and inconsistencies with our water quality and how now we are being financially for the amount of money to invest in filters and water sources. We, ourselves and our children have been diagnosed with eczema, hair loss, period of chlorine exposure and other conditions where the water was not treated properly and caused other medical issues. I would appreciate you also seeing the attach document where Aqua failed to give proper disclosure of flushing when they do flush causing more issues in the month of Jan where all of my family was treated for ecoli! This isn’t new, this is 20 year period of Aqua getting more and more money out of residents and the state to fund their own pockets and not invest in the infrastructure to provide residents with the basic service of good, clean water!