The Citizens Utility Board is calling for the Illinois Commerce Commission to reject a proposed merger between the parent companies of the state’s two biggest private water utilities – Illinois American Water and Aqua Illinois – because the deal would not serve the public interest.

The parent companies of the utilities, American Water and Essential Utilities, announced an “all-stock, tax-free” merger in October 2025. The proposed transaction would result in Essential becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of American Water, according to CUB.

The combined utilities would serve 4.7 million water and wastewater customers across 17 states. On April 9, CUB filed testimony on the proposed merger.

The ICC is set to rule on the merger no later than Nov. 5.

CUB pointed to what it called the companies’ poor track record in Illinois and challenged claims by corporate officials that the deal will allow them “to continue providing superior customer service at affordable rates.”

“Illinois American and Aqua have a long history of consumer complaints about escalating bills and poor service, and our expert testimony shows that there is no reason to believe that the merger will fix these problems,” CUB Executive Director Sarah Moskowitz said in a news release. “That’s why we urge the ICC to reject this deal or set strong guardrails to hold these companies accountable to their long-suffering customers.”

Concerned about escalating Aqua and Illinois American bills for years, CUB has challenged the utilities’ rate hikes before the ICC and worked to reform a state law that allows both companies to “aggressively buy up depreciated municipal water and wastewater systems and charge their customers for 100 percent of the price tag,” the group said.

Those acquisitions have inflated Illinois bills by a total of more than $411 million since 2013, according to CUB research.

Writing on behalf of CUB, Bradley Cebulko, an expert on utility regulation with Current Energy Group, argued that the merging companies “have not provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the transaction is in the public interest.”

If regulators approve the merger, CUB is urging them to impose a five-year moratorium on further acquisitions until the merger is complete and the merged company demonstrates it meets certain performance standards.

In seeking regulatory approval of the merger, American Water has promised to “maintain current service quality,” but despite numerous requests by consumer advocates, the utility has failed to “define, measure, or verify” that commitment, according to CUB’s testimony.

The companies hope to close the deal, which requires regulatory approval in multiple states, in the first quarter of 2027.