Essential Utilities is a regulated water, wastewater and natural-gas utility pursuing a merger with American Water to create a larger infrastructure platform; Kentucky, Ohio and Virginia had already approved the deal, while Pennsylvania remained one of the outstanding state approvals. This advances the merger process, but does not clear Pennsylvania. On September 15, 2026, the companies and affiliates filed a joint petition for a non-unanimous settlement. 〔0〕 The settlement has support from key regulatory and consumer advocates, but at least one proceeding participant did not join it, so this is negotiation progress rather than a final regulatory win.
The key limitation is that the settlement still has to survive the formal approval chain. Administrative Law Judges will review it and issue a recommended decision before the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission considers approval. 〔1〕 That makes the filing a modest process milestone: it reduces one layer of uncertainty, but leaves the most important Pennsylvania decision outstanding.
Bottom line: This is a constructive but incomplete merger update. The direction was already expected; the new information is that the parties have reached a non-unanimous settlement, not that Pennsylvania has approved the transaction.
Read the original 8-K on SEC EDGAR ↗