The York Water Co. hopes to raise its rates later this month, president and CEO Jeffrey Hines said Thursday.

The rate increase plans were released Thursday along with financial results for the first quarter of 2008, when earnings went down despite rising revenues.

York Water has not yet decided how much it wants to raise its rates and is completing an application to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, which must approve any increase, Hines said.

Higher rates would allow for infrastructure improvements and ensure increased net income while "providing shareholders an appropriate return," according to the company's release.

During the first quarter of 2008, the company invested $3.4 million in construction projects, such as a system expansion, according to the report.

York Water is doing work at its filter plant and is continuing to replace aging water pipelines, Hines said.

First-quarter operating revenue increased 1.6 percent, from $7.4 million in 2007 to $7.5 million for the same period of 2008, according to the release. Hines attributed the increase to a customer base that grew by 905.

But Hines said slower-than-expected growth in the customer base was responsible for earnings that went down 9 percent in the first quarter, from $1,326,000 in 2007 to $1,206,000 in 2008.

There was also a "modest" decline in per capita consumption, and higher operating expenses including depreciation, wages and health insurance expenses.

Earnings per share for

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the three-month period fell by $0.01 per share.

-- Reach Christina Kauffman at 505-5436 or ckauffman@yorkdispatch.com. Reach Daina Klimanis at 505-5439 or dklimanis@yorkdispatch.com.