Avondale customers get extra time to pay bills

GRANITEVILLE --- Avondale Mills customers disgruntled over high July bills got some relief from the South Carolina Public Service Commission last week.

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Graniteville resident Wayne Johnson holds the letter he got recently from Avondale telling him he has to pay his high water bills.

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Michael Holahan/Staff

Wayne Johnson, of Graniteville, says his July water bill was $135, up from its usual $15. He and his wife are retired and on a fixed income.

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The commission voted 4-1 Thursday to order Avondale to accept payment on the July bills in two installments, to be made by the end of January, said Charlie Terreni, the chief clerk of the commission. The commission did not order any additional help for the 550 Graniteville and Vaucluse customers, who saw their bills increase more than 700 percent in some cases.

"They didn't order any additional relief because they want to see if the water system is sold in January," Mr. Terreni said. "They don't want to do anything to interfere with that."

Earlier this month, the state Supreme Court ruled that an injunction granted by Aiken Circuit Court Judge Jack Early in August was invalid. The Supreme Court found that the water issue shouldn't have gone to a circuit court because it falls under the jurisdiction of the commission and the state appeals court.

Avondale Mills then sent out a letter informing customers that they were required to pay the bills in full by Nov. 30.

Soon after, Aiken County Sheriff Michael Hunt and Joe Taylor, both Graniteville residents, asked the PSC to prohibit Avondale from collecting on the new rates for the period from June 26 to July 25, arguing that residents weren't given proper notice and shouldn't have to pay higher bills for service before July 31.

The commission's decision was a step in the right direction, said state Rep. Tom Young, R-Aiken, who has been an advocate for the Avondale customers. However, now that customers know that the rates were increased so that improvements can be made to the dilapidated system, they are expected to pay.

"It's been a small victory in that they're given more time to pay for those bills," he said. "We're still hoping they're going to do something about the rate in the long term."

The rate over time could be a problem for customers such as Wayne Johnson. The Graniteville man said he and his wife are retired and on a fixed income. Giving some relief on the July bill was helpful, but there are still concerns about the high rates, he said. His July bill was $135, up from $15.

"I'm on a fixed income, and if you figure that I would have to pay at that level for a year, that's an extra $1,400," he said. "There's no commodity that I can think of that has gone up like that. It doesn't make sense."

Mr. Johnson and his wife have begun taking shorter showers and taking other steps to reduce water use. His hope is that Valley Public Service Authority, which in the process of purchasing the Avondale system, will give customers long-term relief.

"It's going to be a help to us to pay in installments for now, especially with Christmas coming," he said. "Hopefully, Valley Public can get the rates down in at least a year."

Valley Public is taking bids for the work that has to be done to repair the system, Mr. Young said. The water authority will need stimulus funds and federal money from the Department of Agriculture's Rural Development agency to make those improvements happen.

"We're hoping we're seeing the last two months that citizens have to be on a water system owned by Avondale," Mr. Young said.

Reach Stephanie Toone at (706) 823-3215 or stephanie.toone@augustachronicle.com.