Press Release

PUC Releases Focused Management & Operations Audit for Columbia Water Company

Published on 5/3/2018

Filed under: Water and Wastewater

HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) today voted to release a Focused Management and Operations Audit report of the Columbia Water Company (Columbia Water).

The Commission voted 5-0 to make the Audit Report and Columbia Water’s Implementation Plan public.

Focused Management and Operations Audits, performed by the PUC’s Bureau of Audits, analyze and evaluate management performance in various functional areas.

The audit report makes 13 recommendations to Columbia Water for improvement, including:

• Accelerating the replacement of cast iron mains.
• Developing and maintaining a damage prevention program to include a damage prevention manual, line damage database, and a pipeline education and awareness program for the company’s stakeholders.
• Emergency preparedness and annual testing of related plans.
• Periodically exploring banking and financing services through price comparisons or competitive bids.
• Evaluating historical customer delinquent account data and modifying collection practices accordingly.

Columbia Water has accepted 12 of the recommendations in-full, and partially accepted one other. The company has indicated it will implement the majority of the recommendations by March 2019.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission balances the needs of consumers and utilities; ensures safe and reliable utility service at reasonable rates; protects the public interest; educates consumers to make independent and informed utility choices; furthers economic development; and fosters new technologies and competitive markets in an environmentally sound manner.

Visit the PUC’s website at www.puc.pa.gov for recent news releases and video of select proceedings. You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube. Search for the “Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission” or “PA PUC” on your favorite social media channel for updates on utility issues and other helpful consumer information.

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Docket No.: D-2017-2606105

Contact:

• Nils Hagen-Frederiksen
  Press Secretary
  717-418-2701
  nhagen-fre@pa.gov