CLS is pleased to announce our proposed settlement agreement with the Philadelphia Water Department regarding the proposed annual adjustment to the rates, called the TAP-R rates, that fund discounts to participants in the Tiered Assistance Program (TAP).
If approved, this settlement will save customers more than $13 million between September 1, 2024 and August 31, 2025 compared to the Water Department’s rate request. Instead of an average residential monthly TAP-R charge of $4.60 as proposed by the Water Department, the settlement would reduce the average monthly TAP-R charge to $3.37.
Additionally, in response to concerns about water conservation shared by members of the public, the settlement provides that the Water Department must develop strategies to reach high usage TAP participants in order to provide information about water conservation and help people access repair programs to fix costly leaks. These important steps will help control the costs of TAP in the future.
In the last General Rate Proceeding, CLS urged the Water Department to make TAP more accessible to low-income families by using other city data sources to pre-qualify people for the program. The Rate Board recognized that increasing the enrollment of eligible TAP participants not only helps those customers maintain essential water and sewer services but also increases PWD’s overall collections, and the board required PWD to provide quarterly updates regarding data-sharing efforts. Through its data sharing efforts, the Water Department has now successfully enrolled more than 34,000 new TAP participants, resulting in a total enrollment of more than 56,000 TAP participants.
If you are struggling to afford your water bill, contact the Water Department, or call CLS at 215-981-3700 to apply for assistance.
