The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities took up a stack of New Jersey-American Water filings at its September 9 meeting, including a base rate stipulation and three separate infrastructure surcharges. Stacked together, a typical residential customer could see well over $15 a month in new charges. Here's how the pieces fit together and what each one actually pays for.
Five filings, one meeting: why this bill increase looks more complicated than usual
Utility rate increases usually get covered as a single event: a company files for X percent, regulators knock it down to Y percent, and that's the story. What made New Jersey-American Water's September 9 BPU agenda unusual is that it bundled five distinct water and wastewater filings into the same meeting, each with its own docket number, its own dollar figure, and its own separate legal basis. Reading only one of them gives a misleading picture of what's actually about to change on a customer's bill.
The base rate case itself traces back to a January 2026 filing seeking a large system-wide increase. After months of proceedings, the parties reached a stipulation that Administrative Law Judge Jacob Gertsman approved, which is a formal settlement among the utility, the state's Division of Rate Counsel, and other parties rather than the company simply getting what it originally asked for. That stipulation is what went to the full Board for final sign-off, alongside four other, smaller filings that stack on top of it.
The base rate stipulation: $4.06 water, $3.82 sewer
The core stipulation, if approved by the Board, results in a monthly bill increase of $4.06 for a typical residential water customer on the utility's standard Rate Schedule A-1, plus a separate $3.82 monthly increase for a typical residential sewer customer. Combined, that's roughly $7.88 a month, or close to $95 a year, for a household on both water and sewer service through New Jersey-American Water.
That figure is smaller than the increase the company originally sought when it filed in January, which is typical of how New Jersey rate cases resolve. Base rate cases move through months of discovery and hearings specifically so that a formal Rate Counsel review can push back on a utility's initial ask before a final number reaches the Board, rather than the company's opening filing becoming the final bill impact.
The three surcharges: DSIC, RESIC, and the wastewater-side WSIC
Beyond the base rate, the September 9 agenda included three separate infrastructure surcharge filings, each authorized under a different section of New Jersey utility law and each billed on a customer's meter size rather than actual water usage. The Distribution System Improvement Charge (DSIC) funds accelerated replacement of water mains, valves, hydrants, and old service lines; the stipulation on the table would set the maximum DSIC surcharge at $5.11 a month for a standard 5/8-inch residential meter, above the lower surcharge previously in effect.
The Resiliency and Environmental System Investment Charge (RESIC), a newer mechanism created by a 2024 state law to help utilities recover costs for resiliency and environmental-protection projects outside a full rate case, would be set at a maximum of $3.56 a month under the stipulation, a notable step up from its prior level. The Wastewater System Improvement Charge (WSIC) is the sewer-side counterpart to the DSIC, letting the utility recover the cost of accelerated wastewater main and collection-system upgrades between full rate cases; under the stipulation on the table, its maximum would be set at $4.83 a month for a standard residential meter.
Stacked together, a residential customer with both water and sewer service and a standard meter could see the base rate increase plus all three surcharges add up to somewhere north of $15 to $20 a month in new charges, depending on which stipulations the Board ultimately approves and at what levels.
The offset: a PFAS settlement credit moving through the same agenda
Not every item on the September 9 agenda adds to the bill. A separate filing asks the Board to approve a PFAS Litigation Universal Surcredit, referred to in the filing by the acronym PLUS, which would establish a formal rate schedule for returning New Jersey-American Water's share of national PFAS manufacturer lawsuit settlement proceeds to eligible customers as bill credits. This is a distinct mechanism from the general infrastructure surcharges: it's designed to flow settlement money back out to ratepayers rather than fund new spending.
The exact credit amount per household will depend on how the Board rules on the accompanying rate schedule, but the filing's purpose mirrors what other regional utilities have already rolled out: converting a lump-sum legal settlement into a recurring line-item credit rather than a one-time rebate check. For a household watching several new surcharges land on the same bill, this credit is the one line working in the opposite direction.
Figures per the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities' September 9, 2026 board meeting agenda, dockets WR26010010, WR26030097, WR26030100, and WR26030098.
5 things to know before your next NJ American Water bill arrives
Multiple filings moving through the BPU at once means multiple line items can change on the same statement.
- Check your rate schedule, not just your usage: The base rate stipulation figures apply to a typical residential customer on Rate Schedule A-1; commercial or multi-unit accounts are billed differently.
- Surcharges are billed by meter size, not gallons used: DSIC, RESIC, and WSIC are flat monthly charges tied to meter size, so cutting water use won't reduce these specific line items.
- Look for a PFAS settlement credit line: If the PLUS stipulation is approved, eligible customers should see a recurring bill credit, not just a one-time payment.
- RESIC is a newer surcharge worth watching: The Resiliency and Environmental System Investment Charge, created by a 2024 state law, would be set at a maximum of $3.56 a month for a standard residential meter under the stipulation on the table.
- Ask a plumber about the DSIC-funded work near you: DSIC dollars specifically fund main, hydrant, and old service line replacement, so a spike in local construction activity may trace back to this charge.
Frequently asked questions
- Did the BPU approve all of these NJ American Water filings on September 9?
- The meeting agenda listed all five items, base rate, DSIC, RESIC, WSIC, and the PLUS credit, for Board consideration at that meeting, each with a stipulation already negotiated among the parties. Final bill impacts depend on which stipulations the Board formally approved.
- What's the difference between the base rate case and the surcharges?
- The base rate case is a full, multi-month review of the utility's overall costs and revenue needs. The DSIC, RESIC, and WSIC are narrower surcharge mechanisms that let the utility recover specific categories of infrastructure spending between full rate cases, without reopening the entire case.
- Will the PFAS settlement credit cancel out the rate increases?
- Not necessarily. The credit amount depends on a separate stipulation and is tied to the utility's share of national PFAS settlement funds, which is a different pool of money than what funds the base rate or the three infrastructure surcharges.
- Is this the same as the PA American Water PFAS credit already applied in July 2026?
- No. That was a separate credit already issued to Pennsylvania American Water customers under a different state proceeding. This New Jersey filing is a distinct petition covering New Jersey-American Water customers under the BPU's jurisdiction.