By Charlotte Lane, West Virginia Public Service Commission Chair
Today, I would like to assist you in reading your water bill.
Your West Virginia-American Water bill includes lots of useful information apart from – but
included with – your billing statement. So, when you open a bill from this company, it may
contain several pages.
But let’s just look at page two, which is what I want to discuss with you. Half-way down the left-
side of the second page is a section listed as “account detail.” This explains your entire bill in
detail. I’m going to help you navigate the language.
Look at the very bottom left of your bill. That tells you in blue writing with a large blue arrow
the amount of money you owe for service rendered in the last usage period. This number should
fluctuate each month, depending upon the amount of water you use.
Now look up in that same section until you find – also in blue lettering – the term “account
detail.” This gives you everything you need to know. It should first of all show your 16-digit
account number and the address for which the bill is prepared. Below that is a blue water icon
and the words “water service.” This section includes charges for services related to water, and in some cases wastewater or fire service.
Below that is a section with dollar signs inside gray circles and is listed “other charges.” This
charge is known as the Distribution System Improvement Charge or DSIC. It reflects a fixed
percentage of your monthly bill that the Commission allows the company to charge for
maintaining, upgrading, and replacing pipelines and other basic company transmission features.
This is commonly called infrastructure.
This DSIC rate will change from month to month.
Below that is “total service related charges.” That is what the company is billing you for its
service for the previous billing period. After that is a section with two green balloons with dollar
signs in them. This lists taxes levied against your bill by local government.
At the end are the total current charges, which shows the amount you owe for that billing period.
I know these bills can be complicated and difficult to read sometimes. I hope this has helped
make it all a little simpler for you.