Essential Utilities is a regulated water-and-natural-gas utility — the former Aqua America — serving ~5.5M people across nine states. Its Aqua brand pipes water and wastewater to ~3M people in eight states; its Peoples brand delivers gas to ~740,000 customers in Pennsylvania and Kentucky. It grows by pouring ~$1.3B a year into state-approved infrastructure and buying up fragmented municipal water systems. In 2025 it agreed to be acquired by American Water in a ~$63B all-stock merger.
A regulated pipe, not a market
Essential doesn't compete for customers. The state grants it a monopoly over water or gas in an area; in exchange, a commission decides what it can charge. Raw water and pipeline gas flow in, Aqua treats and Peoples distributes, and bills flow back — with a regulator-approved profit on the assets in between.