American Water Californian Unit Provides Service Despite Dues

American Water Works AWK announced that its subsidiary California American Water will continue to provide potable water and wastewater services to customers in California despite non-payment of service dues. Additionally, the company also decided to restore services for all consumers, which was previously discontinued due to nonpayment.

This decision is highly commendable as many people are facing or might face financial hardship in the state due to the coronavirus pandemic. The move will help all 690,000 residents of California who are being served by California American Water.

The fear of the novel coronavirus is gripping the whole world and adversely impacting the global economy. The pandemic continues to spread, with the total count of infected people at 245,881, out of which 10,047 people have lost their lives. Governments worldwide are working hard to break the chain and stop the spread of this contagious virus.

Social distancing and staying at home are the need of the hour. California governor has issued a state wise “Stay-at-Home” order effective Thursday night to gain control over the spread of this virus. Governor of California predicts 56% of California’s population – nearly 25.5 million residents could get infected with the novel coronavirus over an eight-week period.

The residential demand for water is expected to surge as people are not only advised to stay back home but also wash hands properly at regular intervals. California American Water with its existing capacity will be able to efficiently serve the needs of customers in the region.

Another water utility operating in the state California Water Service Group CWT has already issued directives to continue providing water services even in the event of non-payment of dues in this crisis period.

Electric Utilities are Expanding Helping Hand
    
With social awareness among the people rising, millions are going for self-quarantine, preferring to work from home and maintain social distancing to stop the spread of this infectious virus. With more people preferring to stay indoors, residential demand for utility services is expected to spike in this period.  

In addition to water utilities, electric utilities like Duke Energy Corporation DUK and Dominion Energy D, among others have already decided to continue services for customers who are having payment difficulties related to novel coronavirus (COVID -19). Duke Energy currently carries a Zacks Rank#2 (Buy), while Dominion Energy has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Zacks Rank Price Performance

American Water Works has a Zacks Rank #3. Shares of the company have outperformed its industry in the past three months.

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