Press Release

PUC Issues Detailed Management and Operations Audit and Implementation Plan for Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority

Published on 4/20/2023

Filed under: Water and Wastewater

Audit Examines Management & Operations and Identifies 41 Recommendations for Improvements in First-Ever PUC Report on PWSA

HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) today released the results of a detailed Management and Operations Audit of the Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority (PWSA) – which provides water, wastewater, and stormwater services to approximately 100,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers in the City of Pittsburgh and surrounding communities.

The PUC’s audit examined key functional areas at PWSA and includes 41 recommendations for improving operations, which could generate potential annual cost savings of $18.6 to $21.2 million for PWSA and its customers.

The Commission voted 5-0 today to release the PWSA Audit Report, along with the Implementation Plan that was submitted by PWSA to address recommendations in the report.

This is the first detailed review of PWSA management and operations by the Commission’s Bureau of Audits since PWSA was placed under PUC jurisdiction by the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 2017. These regular PUC examinations of major utilities are intended to provide the Commission, the utilities, and the public with an assessment of the efficiency and effectiveness of a utility’s operations, management methods, organization, practices, and procedures; as well as to identify opportunities for improvement and develop recommendations to address those opportunities.

PWSA Audit Report and Recommendations

The PUC audit report includes recommendations that identify operational and service improvements for PWSA customers, including several that could generate significant savings:

• Petition the City of Pittsburgh and the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority (ALCOSAN) to renegotiate the ALCOSAN billing servicing agreement with the PWSA.
• Track actual billing service costs incurred to bill customers on ALCOSAN’s behalf to work toward charging fair costs for these services.
• Payoff and/or refinance higher interest variable and fixed rate debt with proceeds from grants or more favorably priced loans.
• Improve the service termination process to balance sufficient customer notification with timely collection of past-due customer bills.
• Expedite the installation of new flow meters at strategic locations and/or rehabilitate existing flow meters as needed to gain basic insight into areas contributing to excessive water loss that require replacement to maximize treated water retention.
• Modernize IT architecture and processes to increase the PWSA’s cyber maturity rating.
• Complete and implement a comprehensive Cyber Security Plan and maintain its efficacy through annual review and testing.

The implementation plan submitted by PWSA accepts 34 of the recommendations detailed in the PUC audit report and partially agrees with the remaining seven recommendations. While some of the audit recommendations are expected to be addressed as part of long-term efforts, PWSA’s implementation plan notes that a substantial number of the recommendations are currently being implemented or will be completed by the end of this year.

As part of the PUC’s regular follow-up to audit reports, the issues identified in this audit, along with the progress of PWSA implementation efforts related to the major audit recommendations, will be examined during a future PUC Management Efficiency Investigation.

About the PUC

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 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.

# # #

Docket No.: D-2021-3025584

Contact:

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