Springdale Borough Council changes water rates, keeps Springdale Energy as customer

Springdale Borough did not want to lose its biggest water customer — Springdale Energy — especially with the closing of the GenOn plant set for next April costing the borough an estimated $100,000 of water revenue.

So, on Tuesday, Springdale Borough Council voted unanimously to cut the rate for any customer using more than 10 million gallons of water per billing period to $3.50 per 1,000 gallons after the 10 million mark is exceeded. The rate for those using 0 to 10 million gallons will be $9.00 per 1,000 gallons used.

Council President Mitch Karaica said this shouldn’t be considered a deal with any one company, but rather an across the board change in the billing rate structure, one that will certainly benefit Springdale Energy. The company had informed the borough it was considering using its own equipment to intake water from the Allegheny River for their boilers.

“They are 35 percent of our water revenue in the borough,” said Karaica. “With everything else going on, the other power plant in town shutting down, that would really hurt our revenue streams. So, we decided to lower the rate for our heavy industrials.”

As a result of Springdale borough adopting a resolution to change the water rates, Springdale Energy is now abandoning the river water project and staying on as a customer, said Karaica. Other customers such as PPG will also benefit.

“I give them a lot of credit for staying with us,” Karaica said. “If they were to go through with this (river water) project, we would lose them forever. For the long run, they’re doing us a favor by staying as a customer. I don’t know the exact number but I think last year their water bill was $530,000. That’s a big number to lose in a little town.”

Springdale Energy did not return requests for comment.