COSPONSOR MEMO - Wastewater Deduct Meters
 
Dear Colleagues -
 
Wastewater utilities generally bill customers using data from the water meter measuring clean water entering the property.  Customers who use a large volume of water for filling a swimming pool, washing a car in the driveway, or watering their garden end up paying more than they should for wastewater treatment – since the water used to fill the pool, wash the car, or water the garden never enters the wastewater treatment system.
 
No one wants to pay for service they are not using.  No one wants to pay to treat water that never entered the wastewater treatment plant, but is instead filling a swimming pool.
 
Some utilities allow consumers to install, at the customer’s cost, a deduct meter to account for the difference between water coming in and going out of their home.  But many regulated utilities currently don not allow for this commonsense practice.  Regulated utilities should permit deduct meters for customers who want them. 
 
With this in mind, I will be introducing legislation that requires a regulated wastewater utility to include a deduct meter program with the submission of any new or revised tariff for PUC approval.  Customers interested in taking advantage of this option would be required to purchase the deduct meter, but would reap the benefit of paying only for the water actually being treated by the wastewater utility.
 
I would appreciate your support of this measure.