BRYN MAWR, Pa., Jan. 5, 2004 -- Philadelphia Suburban Corp. announced that its North Carolina and Pennsylvania subsidiaries have received permission from the utility commissions in their respective states to expand their existing franchise territories and serve multiple new housing developments scheduled to be built over the next couple of years.
Hydraulics, Ltd. has received approval to gain expanded territories to serve numerous new developer systems that will provide water to more than 2,100 residents throughout the state. Of the 10 new franchise areas, two are in Gaston County--a suburb of Charlotte and the others are in Guilford and Rockingham counties--suburbs of Greensboro. Specifically, the developments are:
* New Chartwell, 150 residents in Guilford County
* Mallard Crossing, 175 residents in Gaston County
* Shadow Oaks, 300 residents in Gaston County
* Foxbury Meadows, 90 residents in Guilford County
* Hoyles Creek, 300 residents in Guilford County
* Springdale, 100 residents in Guilford County
* Providence North, 90 residents in Guilford County
* Hunting Ridge, 75 residents in Guilford County
* Triple Lakes, 260 residents in Guilford County
* River Run, 600 residents in Rockingham County
In addition, PSC's Pennsylvania subsidiary has received approval from the Pennsylvania Utility Commission (PUC) to serve the 600-resident Charlestown Meadows development in Chester County.
Philadelphia Suburban Corporation Chairman and CEO Nicholas DeBenedictis said, "While these transactions don't bring the large customer numbers of some other acquisitions, this strategy of seeking approval to serve developments prior to construction helps expand our service territory and secures our franchise position in areas where growth and economic development are taking place.
There are more than 45,000 small water systems in the country, each of which serves less than 3,300 people. When you do the math, you see that there is tremendous growth potential in this unique segment of the water industry. Acquiring these small systems and integrating them into our existing state operations is a sound strategy for continued growth and maximizes our efficiencies."
PSC is the largest U.S.-based publicly-traded water utility serving approximately 2.5 million residents in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Texas, New Jersey, Indiana, Virginia, Florida, North Carolina, Maine, Missouri, New York, South Carolina and Kentucky. PSC is a publicly traded company listed on both the New York and Philadelphia Stock Exchanges under the ticker symbol PSC.
The company has been committed to the preservation and improvement of the environment throughout its history, which spans more than 100 years. PSC announced earlier this year that it will change its name to Aqua America, Inc. and trade under the new ticker symbol, WTR. The name and ticker symbol change will take place at the close of the market on January 16, 2004.
