{"schema_version":"secwatch.filing_event.v1","accession":"0001552781-26-000266","form_type":"8-K","ticker":"WTRG","cik":"0000078128","company_name":"Essential Utilities, Inc.","filed_at":"2026-04-22T23:59:59+00:00","discovered_at":"2026-05-14T18:02:33.720474+00:00","generated_at":"2026-05-15T04:59:02.175650+00:00","sec_items":["7.01","9.01"],"event_type":"m_and_a","sentiment":"positive","materiality_score":0.85,"calibrated_materiality_score":0.85,"confidence":"high","headline":"Kentucky PSC approves Essential Utilities-American Water merger; first regulatory nod","bullets":["Kentucky Public Service Commission approved the all-stock merger between Essential Utilities (WTRG) and American Water (AWK).","First regulatory approval for the transaction, announced Oct 27, 2025; shareholders of both companies approved in Feb 2026.","Combined co. to serve >4.7M water/wastewater + >740K gas connections, operate as American Water, HQ in Camden, NJ.","Closing expected by end of Q1 2027; still subject to HSR clearance and other state utility commission approvals."],"urls":{"canonical":"https://secwatch.observer/filing/0001552781-26-000266","json":"https://secwatch.observer/filing/0001552781-26-000266.json","markdown":"https://secwatch.observer/filing/0001552781-26-000266.md","text":"https://secwatch.observer/filing/0001552781-26-000266.txt","edgar_index":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/78128/000155278126000266/0001552781-26-000266-index.htm","edgar_primary_document":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/78128/000155278126000266/e26216_wtrg-8k.htm"},"model":{"generated_by":"deepseek-v4-flash:cloud@v2","generated_at":"2026-05-15T04:59:02.175650+00:00"},"review":{"review_status":"machine_generated","human_reviewed":false,"corrected":false,"correction_note":null,"correction_timestamp":null,"superseded_by":null,"related_filings":[]},"source_grounded_claims":[],"license":"Source filings: public domain (SEC EDGAR). Summaries (headline + bullets): CC-BY-4.0; attribute https://secwatch.observer"}