Liberty Utilities customers experienced a “make-whole surcharge” in April, which will be in effect until March 2026. The implementation of the 1.84% surcharge aims to make up for delayed rate changes and retrieve “lost revenue.”
In Nassau County, Liberty Water services portions of the North Shore, including Sea Cliff, Glen Head, Glenwood Landing, Roslyn Harbor and Old Brookville, as well as portions of the South Shore, including Wantagh, Seaford, Bellmore, Massapequa and Levittown.
“Liberty cares greatly about our customers and works to communicate important topics like rate changes. Since approval from NY Public Service Commission in August 2024, we shared information about annual rate increases via special bill messages, our website, a news release and public notices,” said Deborah Franco, president of Liberty.
Last August, the company announced that Nassau County residents would see a 9.2% increase in 2024 and 4.5% hikes in both 2026 and 2027. Liberty Water has confirmed that these increases are up to date and accurate.
Franco said rate increases aid the company’s ability to “continue providing safe, reliable water to our customers, but also allow for improvements to our service.”
In addition to the annual increases, the make-whole surcharge will be in effect for 11 months. The company has implemented the surcharge in the past.
On the company’s website, it says the surcharge is a “mechanism designed to capture the lost revenue due to the delay in the rate increase.”
According to its website, Liberty is regulated by the New York Public Service Commission and rates are determined by the cost of “providing service,” including maintenance, construction and financing.
“Rates set by the PSC are for the typical residential customer using 8,000 gallons of water each month. Many people fall outside of ‘typical’ usage, and it would be difficult to forecast their exact rate increase,” Franco said.
According to Liberty’s Customer Bill Impact document, effective April 1, North Shore customers’ cost per usage ranges from $51.36 for 4,000 gallons to $248.75 for 20,000 gallons. South Shore customers’ cost per usage ranges from $35.98 for 4,000 gallons to $171.59 for 20,000 gallons.
Prices on the Customer Bill Impact document include the make-whole surcharge for base rates of 1.84%. Rates for the North Shore include the RAC/PTR surcharge of 13.68% and an incremental property tax surcharge of $0.4126 per 100 gallons. Rates for the South Shore include a RAC/PTR surcharge of 17.40%, according to the document.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average American uses 82 gallons of water a day, accumulating to approximately 2,460 gallons per person per month. Franco said during warm weather, people tend to see an increase in their water usage as well as their bills.
“During peak summer season, customers also use more water and see an increase in their bills,” Franco said.
She said moving forward, the company will keep advocate for the elimination of the Special Franchise Tax, which is paid by private utility companies, which would provide rate relief for customers.
“We continue to advocate for rate relief through the elimination of the Special Franchise Tax and access to state grants. We are doing this on behalf of our customers and have gained support from several elected officials. We hope that this unfair tax will be removed as it can account for 30-50 percent of a customer’s bill. We continue to advocate for our customers and will keep them informed on our efforts,” she said.
