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We are holding the 2022 annual meeting through a virtual meeting format by electronic transmission via the Internet.

As described in the proxy materials for the annual meeting, shareholders of record at the close of business on March 25, 2022, the record date, will be entitled to participate in the virtual annual meeting. American States Water Company shareholders of record may attend the virtual annual meeting by entering their 16-digit control number at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/AWR2022. Beneficial owners may also participate in the annual meeting if the owner’s broker, bank or other shareholder of record provides that option to you. The control number is included with the proxy card or notice previously provided to you. Online access to the meeting will begin at 10:45 a.m., Pacific Time on May 24, 2022 and the meeting will start at 11:00 a.m., Pacific Time. During the meeting, shareholders will have an opportunity to vote and submit questions electronically.

The Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, has adopted rules to allow us to elect to use the Internet as our primary means of furnishing our proxy statement, electronic proxy card and our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 to our shareholders. As a result, on or about April 8, 2022, we are mailing to most of our shareholders a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials referred to herein as the Notice. The Notice contains instructions on how to access our proxy materials over the Internet at www.proxyvote.com and how to request a paper copy of our proxy materials. The proxy materials will be posted on the Internet no later than the date we begin mailing the Notice. On or about April 8, 2022, we are mailing to all remaining shareholders a paper copy of our proxy materials. If, however, we are unable to mail a paper copy to a shareholder because the shareholder lives in an area where the common carrier has suspended mail service, we will make a good faith effort to deliver the proxy materials to you. We are sending a Notice or proxy materials to each of our shareholders of record in connection with the solicitation by our board of directors of proxies to be voted at our 2022 annual meeting and any adjournments thereof.

We have set the record date for determining the shareholders entitled to vote at the 2022 annual meeting as of the close of business on March 25, 2022. As of March 25, 2022, we had 36,955,633 common shares outstanding. We do not have any other outstanding equity securities. Each of our common shares is entitled to one vote.

We are holding the 2022 annual meeting through a virtual meeting format by electronic transmission via Webcast at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/AWR2022 at 11:00 a.m., Pacific Time.

At our 2022 annual meeting, we will ask our shareholders to elect directors to class II who will serve until our annual meeting of shareholders in 2025 or until our shareholders duly elect their qualified successors. We are seeking advisory votes on the compensation that we pay our named executive officers, commonly referred to as a “say-on-pay” proposal. In addition, we will ask shareholders to ratify the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the company’s independent registered public accounting firm and to vote on any other matter, which may properly come before the 2022 annual meeting.

Even if you can attend the Webcast 2022 annual meeting, we encourage you to vote early using the mail, telephone or Internet methods described on the next page.

We are holding the 2022 annual meeting through a virtual meeting format by electronic transmission via Webcast. As always, we encourage you to vote your shares prior to the annual meeting. You are a shareholder of record if your shares are registered directly in your name. We mailed this proxy statement or the Notice directly to you if you are a shareholder of record.

To attend our 2022 annual meeting, please visit www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/AWR2022. Shareholders or their legal proxies must enter the 16-digit control number found on the proxy card, voting instruction form or other proxy materials. Online access to the annual meeting will open 15 minutes prior to the start of the annual meeting. Once admitted to the annual meeting, attendees may:

If you are the shareholder of record or a legal proxy holder, you may vote your shares by entering your 16-digit control number at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/AWR2022. The control number is included with the proxy card or notice previously provided to you. Participants in the 401(k) plan of Golden State Water Company may not vote their 401(k) shares at the 2022 annual meeting since the 401(k) plan trustee is the shareholder of record of these shares.

All proxies that shareholders properly sign and return will be voted at the 2022 annual meeting or any adjournment thereof in accordance with the instructions indicated on the proxy. You may vote your shares without attending the 2022 annual meeting by mail, telephone or Internet.

Regardless of whether you attend the 2022 annual meeting, we encourage all our shareholders to vote using one of the methods described above. You may change your vote by submitting another proxy. The submission of the second proxy will revoke your prior proxy.

Participants in Golden State Water Company’s 401(k) plan may vote their 401(k) plan shares by mail, phone or Internet as described above. Votes submitted by telephone or using the Internet must be received by 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on May 19, 2022 in order for us to forward your instructions to the 401(k) plan trustee. The trustee will vote 401(k) plan shares as to which no directions are received in the same ratio as 401(k) plan shares with respect to which directions are received from other participants in the 401(k) plan, unless contrary to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.

Please bear in mind that your execution of a proxy will not affect your right to attend the 2022 annual meeting or any adjournment thereof and vote at the virtual annual meeting.

In the election of directors, you may vote your shares for the nominees in the following manner:

With respect to the advisory vote to approve the compensation of our named executive officers and the ratification of the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm, you may vote your shares in the following manner:

Each share is entitled to one vote on each of these matters.

You may not cumulate your votes for a director (i.e., cast for any candidate a number of votes greater than the number of common shares that you hold on the record date) unless you or another shareholder:

If you or any other shareholder gives notice prior to voting of an intention to cumulate votes, then all shareholders may cumulate their votes for candidates who have been nominated.

Our board recommends that you vote your shares:

The named proxies will vote “FOR ALL” of the board’s nominees to be elected as directors, “FOR” the approval of the compensation of the named executive officers, as disclosed pursuant to the compensation disclosure rules of the SEC, including the compensation discussion and analysis, compensation tables and any related materials

disclosed in this proxy statement, and “FOR” the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm if you send in your proxy without voting instructions. The named proxies will also vote in favor of such other matters as are incident to the conduct of the 2022 annual meeting, unless otherwise instructed.

In the event any one or more of the nominees is withdrawn from nomination as a director or is unable to serve for any reason, a contingency not now anticipated, the named proxies may vote for a substitute nominee or nominees, unless otherwise instructed by a shareholder on his or her proxy.

Candidates for the board of directors receiving the highest number of affirmative votes of the shares entitled to vote at the 2022 annual virtual meeting or by proxy (up to the number of directors to be elected) will be elected. Votes cast against a candidate or votes withheld will have no legal effect. Brokers are not authorized to vote on this proposal unless you instruct otherwise.

The compensation of the named executive officers, as disclosed pursuant to the compensation rules of the SEC, including the compensation discussion and analysis, compensation tables and any related material disclosed in this proxy statement will be approved upon an affirmative vote of a majority of our common shares represented at the virtual annual meeting or by proxy and voting, provided that the shares voting affirmatively also constitute at least a majority of the required quorum at the 2022 annual meeting. Abstentions on this proposal will not be considered as a vote cast for or against this proposal. Brokers are not authorized to vote on this proposal unless you instruct otherwise. This vote is advisory and non-binding on the company, the compensation committee and the board.

The appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, as our independent registered public accounting firm, will be ratified by the affirmative vote of those present at the virtual annual meeting or by proxy and voting, provided that the shares voting affirmatively also constitute at least a majority of the required quorum at the 2022 annual meeting. Abstentions on this proposal will not be considered as a vote cast for or against this proposal. Brokers are authorized to vote on this proposal unless you instruct otherwise.

If we conduct voting for directors by cumulative voting, then you may cast a number of votes equal to the number of directors authorized multiplied by the number of shares you have a right to vote. You may cast your votes for a single candidate or you may distribute your votes on the same principle among as many candidates in whatever proportion you desire.

The accompanying proxy will grant the named proxies discretionary authority to vote cumulatively if cumulative voting applies. Unless you instruct the named proxies otherwise, the named proxies will vote equally for each of the candidates for the office of director; provided, however, that if sufficient numbers of our shareholders exercise cumulative voting rights to elect one or more candidates, the named proxies will:

A quorum is present if shareholders holding a majority of shares entitled to vote on the record date are present at the 2022 annual meeting, either at the virtual annual meeting or by proxy. We will count shares represented by proxies that reflect abstentions and broker non-votes as present and entitled to vote for purposes of determining the presence of a quorum. The term “broker non-vote” refers to shares held by brokers or nominees who have not received instructions on how to vote from the beneficial owners or persons entitled to vote if the broker or nominee indicates on the proxy that the broker or nominee does not have discretionary power to vote on the matter.

We will bear the entire cost of preparing, assembling, printing and mailing proxy statements and the costs of any additional materials, which the board may furnish to you. We may solicit proxies by U.S. mail in the case of beneficial owners that own 1,000 or more shares or, in the case of all other shareholders, brokers, banks and other nominees, by mailing a notice containing instructions on how to access our proxy materials and vote. We have engaged the services of Morrow Sodali LLC, 470 West Avenue, Stamford, Connecticut 06902 for $8,000 to assist us in soliciting proxies. We may also solicit proxies by telephone, or personally, by directors, officers and regular employees of the company who will receive no extra compensation for performing these services.

It means your shares are either registered differently or appear in more than one account. Please provide us with voting instructions for all proxy and voting instruction cards that you receive.

The board of directors has appointed Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. to act as the inspector of election. The inspector of election will count all votes cast, whether at the virtual annual meeting or by proxy.

Shareholders may adjourn an annual meeting by the affirmative vote of a majority of the shares represented at the annual meeting, whether at the virtual annual meeting or by proxy, even if a quorum is not present. In the absence of a quorum at the 2022 annual meeting, no business may be transacted at the 2022 annual meeting other than an adjournment.

We are not required to give you notice of an adjournment of an annual meeting if we announce the time and place of the adjournment at the annual meeting at which the adjournment takes place. We must, however, give you notice of the adjourned meeting if the adjournment is for more than 45 days or, if after the adjournment, we set a new record date for the adjourned meeting.

 

The board of directors currently consists of nine directors, with an independent non-management director serving as its chair. The board is divided into three classes (class I, class II and class III). Shareholders elect directors in each class to serve for a three-year staggered term expiring in successive years or until shareholders duly elect their successors. The term of the class III directors will expire at the 2023 annual meeting. The term of the class I directors will expire at the 2024 annual meeting. The term of the directors elected to class II at this annual meeting will expire at the 2025 annual meeting.

Ms. Holloway, the chairman of the board, is a non-voting ex-officio member of all committees of the board, is the presiding director for executive sessions of the board and acts as lead director of the board.

The board holds executive sessions of the board following regularly scheduled meetings and on an as-needed basis. Some of these sessions are non-management executive sessions. Currently, Mr. Sprowls, who is also president and chief executive officer of the company, is the only employee director that participates in executive sessions of the board. He does not participate in non-management executive sessions. The board held five executive sessions of the board in 2021, four of which included a non-management executive session.

The board of directors has determined that all members of the board in 2021, other than Mr. Sprowls, were independent directors of the company. The board believes that this leadership structure, in which the chair is an independent director acting as the lead director, ensures a greater role for the other independent directors in the oversight of the company and active participation of the independent directors in setting agendas and establishing priorities and procedures for the board. The board further believes that this leadership structure is preferred by a significant number of our shareholders. The board has used this leadership structure since the formation of the company as a holding company in 1998.

The board’s oversight function includes, among other things, the following specific responsibilities:

The board does not manage risk. Rather the board oversees enterprise risk management, or ERM, performed under the direction of the senior management team. The board satisfies this responsibility by obtaining information from each committee chair regarding the committee’s risk oversight activities and the ERM liaison between the board and management and from regular reports directly from officers, the management sustainability oversight team and other key management personnel responsible for risk identification, risk management and risk mitigation strategies. The reporting processes are designed to provide visibility to the board about the identification, assessment and management of critical risks and management’s risk mitigation strategies.

On a quarterly basis, management discusses critical risks including any newly identified critical risks and the implementation status of plans to mitigate these risks, with the ERM liaison and the committees that are in charge of the risks within their areas of responsibility. Each committee chair and the ERM liaison provide a report to the full board regarding the critical risks discussed, management’s mitigation plans and implementation of the ERM program and other matters relevant to the risk oversight responsibilities of the board, including without limitation, COVID-19 risks, regulatory, accounting, tax, climate change and cybersecurity risks. On an annual basis, management also provides to the ERM liaison, each committee and the board an updated list of all critical and medium risks identified by management, an assessment of the company’s financial exposure should the risk

not be mitigated and management’s assessment of the probability of an event occurring given the company’s mitigation plans. Each committee chair and the ERM liaison review and comment on this information. Thereafter, each committee chair and the ERM liaison report to the full board on the results of its consideration of enterprise risks within its area of responsibility.

The audit and finance committee considers financial risks and exposures, particularly financial reporting, tax, accounting, disclosure and internal control over financial reporting, financial policies, investment guidelines, credit and liquidity matters and the company’s retirement plans, and the design and performance of the internal audit, ethics and compliance functions. The audit and finance committee receives regular reports from the internal auditor of the company to assist it in overseeing financial risks and has direct authority over the company’s independent registered public accounting firm.

The nominating and governance committee considers risks and exposures relating to corporate governance and succession planning for the board and the chief executive officer. The nominating and governance committee is also responsible for making recommendations regarding the delegation of risk oversight responsibilities to committees of the board and the policies and procedures for coordinating the risk oversight responsibilities of the board, the ERM liaison and each of the committees and the board.

The compensation committee considers risks associated with executive and employee compensation programs, with a particular focus on performance-based compensation. We discuss further how this committee assesses the risks associated with the different components of executive compensation under the heading “Compensation Discussion and Analysis-Risk Considerations.”

The ASUS committee was established by the board to oversee the risks and exposures associated with the company’s contracted services operations at American States Utility Services, Inc. and its subsidiaries, or ASUS.

Bear Valley Electric Service, Inc., or BVESI, a wholly-owned electric subsidiary of the company, has a safety and operations committee comprised of its directors to oversee risks associated with its electric utility operations as required by the California Public Utilities Commission, including oversight of the implementation of its wildfire mitigation plan.

The board, with the assistance of the compensation and nominating and governance committees, oversees succession planning and leadership development of the chief executive officer and other officers, directors and managers of the company. In addition to reviewing the company’s succession planning processes, the compensation committee reviews the development plans that are being utilized to strengthen the skills and qualifications of candidates for leadership positions in the company. The compensation committee recommends to the board actions that the committee believes should be taken in light of the operations needs of the company and its talent pool to enable the company to attract, motivate and retain the right people in the right positions now and into the future. The compensation committee also considers actions that should be taken in the event of a sudden loss of the chief executive officer or other officers, directors or managers.

The director of the human capital management department reports to the compensation committee quarterly on the hiring of new employees, employee terminations, vacancies, employees eligible for retirement and the use of temporary employees. The director also provides information to the board on the diversity demographics of the company and the company’s equitable pay practices.

The nominating and governance committee is responsible for matters related to board succession planning. You may find additional information on characteristics that the nominating committee considers in nominating a candidate for the board under the heading “Nominating and Governance Committee-How does the nominating and governance committee assess candidates to fill vacancies on the board?”

Under our bylaws, the board of directors may increase the authorized number of directors up to eleven without obtaining shareholder approval so long as we list our common shares on the New York Stock Exchange. We currently have nine directors on our board. The board of directors may also decrease the number of authorized directors to no less than six without obtaining shareholder approval. If the number of authorized directors is decreased to six, then the board will cease to be classified; provided, that the decrease in the number of directors cannot shorten the term of any incumbent director.

Unless otherwise approved by our shareholders, the board of directors will cease to be classified if our common shares are not listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

A majority of the remaining directors may fill vacancies on the board, except those existing because of a removal of a director, though less than a quorum. If the board consists of only one director, the sole remaining director may fill all vacancies on the board. Each director so elected will hold office until the end of the term of the director who has been removed, or until the director’s successor has been duly elected and qualified. Our shareholders also have the right to elect a director or directors at any time to fill any vacancy or vacancies not filled by the directors.

Under California law, a member of the board of directors may be removed:

Generally, shareholders may not remove a director if the votes cast against removal are sufficient to elect the director if voted cumulatively at an election of directors held at the time of removal. In addition, no director may be removed by shareholders by written consent unless all shareholders vote for removal of the director.

The board has three standing committees:

Each committee operates under a written charter, which identifies the purpose of the committee and its primary functions and responsibilities. Copies of these committee charters are available on our website at www.aswater.com.

The board has also established another committee, known as the ASUS committee, to oversee our contracted services business.

During 2021:

Every board member attended all of the meetings of the board in 2021. All of the standing committee members in 2021 attended 100% of the committee meetings of any committee in which he or she was a member.

The nominating and governance committee assesses qualifications of candidates to fill vacancies on the board and makes recommendations to the board regarding candidates to fill these vacancies. The nominating and governance committee also:

The nominating and governance committee assesses nominees for directors based on a number of qualifications, including:

Each director, other than the chief executive officer of the company, is also expected to satisfy the independence requirements of the board.

In addition to the criteria set forth above, the nominating and governance committee considers how the skills and attributes of each individual candidate or incumbent director work together to create a board that is collegial, engaged and effective in performing its duties. In order to achieve this objective, the committee believes that the background and qualifications of the directors, considered as a group, should provide a

significant mix and diversity of professional and personal experience, knowledge and skills that will allow the board to fulfill its responsibilities. The committee construes the concept of diversity broadly so as to include a variety of opinions, perspectives, personal experiences and backgrounds and other differentiating characteristics, including gender and ethnicity.

The process used by the committee in assessing candidates for director is a subjective one. The committee has considered knowledge, skills and experience in the following areas to be helpful to the board in selecting nominees for director:

For information on the specific backgrounds and qualifications of our current directors, see “Proposal 1: Election of Directors.”

As part of its annual self-assessment process, the board also evaluates itself and/or directors on a variety of criteria, including:

The nominating and governance committee generally considers candidates recommended by board members, professional search firms, shareholders and other persons, in addition to board members whose terms may be expiring. The way in which the nominating and governance committee evaluates a new person as a nominee does not differ based on who makes the nomination.

Absent extraordinary circumstances, the board may not nominate a director for election after he or she reaches the age of 75. Four members of our board will be over 70 and four non-employee directors will have served on the board for more than 10 years.

After the board receives the nominating and governance committee’s recommendations on nominees, the board then nominates director candidates the board deems most qualified for election at an annual meeting, taking into account the background, qualifications and age of each of the other members of the board.

If a vacancy or a newly created board seat occurs between annual meetings, the board is responsible for filling the vacancy or newly created board seat in accordance with our bylaws as described above under the heading, “How are vacancies filled on the board of directors?”

The nominating and governance committee uses an outside law firm to assist it in conducting an annual performance and needs assessment of the board. Each board member is asked to submit both a subjective and objective assessment of the board as well as suggestions on how to improve board functioning and whether there are any strategic aspects of the company’s business that might merit additional board attention. The results of this assessment are summarized by outside counsel and then distributed to the nominating and governance committee and the board for discussion. Each of the committees also discusses its performance annually.

Dr. Bontá is the chair of the nominating and governance committee. Mr. Davis and Mr. Levin are members of this committee. Ms. Holloway is a non-voting ex-officio member of this committee.

You may submit the name of a person for election as a director either by submitting a recommendation to the nominating and governance committee or by directly submitting a name for consideration at a shareholder meeting. In either event, you must submit the name of the nominee in writing to our corporate secretary at our corporate headquarters between February 22, 2023 and March 9, 2023, in order for your nominee to be considered for election as a director at the 2023 annual meeting. If we change the 2023 annual meeting date by more than 30 days from the date of our 2022 annual meeting or the date a special meeting is held, you will have another opportunity to submit nominations. In this case, the corporate secretary must receive your nomination at our corporate headquarters no later than the close of business on the tenth day following the earlier of the date on which we mail you notice of the meeting or we publicly disclose the meeting date.

Your notice to the corporate secretary must contain:

If you submit a name for consideration by the nominating and governance committee, we may also ask you to provide other information reasonably related to the recommended individual’s qualifications as a nominee. The person recommended should be able to, upon request and with reasonable advance notice, meet with one or more members of the nominating and governance committee and/or the board of directors to inquire into the nominee’s qualifications and background and otherwise to be interviewed for purposes of the nomination.

If you plan to submit a name directly for nomination as a director at a shareholder meeting, you must comply with all requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 in connection with soliciting shareholders to vote for your nominee.

We have made no material changes in 2022 to these procedures for the nomination of directors.

We have not paid any fees for assistance in identifying potential candidates to fill a vacancy on the board since our previous annual meeting.

Since our previous annual meeting, we have not received any nominations from a shareholder or a group of shareholders owning more than 5% of our outstanding common shares.

Ms. Anderson is the chair of the audit and finance committee. Mr. Fielder and Ms. Wilkins are members of this committee. Ms. Holloway is a non-voting ex-officio member of this committee.

The board of directors determined:

The audit and finance committee:

Management has the primary responsibility for our financial statements, internal controls, disclosure controls and the financial reporting process. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, our registered public accounting firm, is responsible for performing an independent audit of our consolidated financial statements in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards and issuing a report based on its findings. The audit and finance committee is responsible for monitoring and overseeing our financial reporting process. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP reports directly to the audit and finance committee and, if requested, the board of directors.

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP provided to the audit and finance committee the written disclosures and letter required by the applicable requirements of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board regarding the independent accountant’s communications with the audit and finance committee concerning independence, and the audit and finance committee discussed with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP the independent accountant’s independence. The audit and finance committee also reviewed and discussed our audited consolidated financial statements with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and matters related to the audit required by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, including the firm’s evaluation of our internal control over financial reporting and the overall quality of our financial reporting.

The committee reviewed and discussed with management the company’s audited consolidated financial statements for 2021. Management has represented to the audit and finance committee that our internal controls over financial reporting have no material weaknesses and that management prepared the company’s consolidated financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

Based upon the audit and finance committee’s discussions with management and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the audit and finance committee’s review of the representations of management and the reports and presentations of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP to the audit and finance committee, the audit and finance committee recommended that the board of directors include the audited consolidated financial statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 filed with the SEC.

This report is submitted by:

Sarah J. Anderson, Chair

John R. Fielder, Member

Janice F. Wilkins, Member

Our compensation committee, which consists entirely of independent directors:

The compensation committee has the authority, in its discretion, to hire, retain, terminate and oversee the work of compensation consultants, independent counsel and other advisers to assist the committee in evaluating the amount or form of executive or director compensation. Before retaining any compensation consultant, independent counsel or other such advisers, the compensation committee is required to consider those factors specified in the Dodd-Frank Act and the rules and regulations promulgated by the SEC thereunder and such other factors that the compensation committee deems appropriate that may affect the independence of such consultants, counsel or advisers. Unless otherwise provided by the board, the compensation committee does not have the authority to delegate its authority to a subcommittee.

The compensation committee engaged Pearl Meyer to prepare a survey of executive and director compensation trends and pay practices of other companies and to make recommendations to the compensation committee regarding the amount and types of compensation to be paid to our executive officers and directors in 2021 (hereafter referred to as the engagement). The aggregate amount of fees paid to Pearl Meyer in 2021 in connection with the engagement was $108,584. The compensation committee had the sole authority to appoint Pearl Meyer, to oversee the compensation services provided by Pearl Meyer and to approve the compensation paid to Pearl Meyer for these services.

The compensation committee believes that the consulting advice that it has received from Pearl Meyer was objective. The committee has assessed the independence of Pearl Meyer pursuant to SEC rules and concluded that no conflicts of interest exist between the company and Pearl Meyer (or any individuals working on the company’s account on behalf of Pearl Meyer). In reaching such determination, the committee considered the following factors, all of which were attested to or affirmed by Pearl Meyer:

Mr. Levin is the chair of the compensation committee. Dr. Bontá, Ms. Hopkins and Mr. Davis are members of this committee. Mr. Anderson was the chair of this committee prior to his retirement in May 2021. Ms. Holloway is a non-voting ex-officio member of this committee.

The board has determined that no member of this committee during 2021 has or had a material relationship with the company, either directly or indirectly as a partner, shareholder or officer of an organization that has a material relationship with us or any other relationship with the company that the board of directors determined would affect the independence of that member.

No member of this committee during 2021 is or was a current or former officer or employee of the company or any of its subsidiaries. None of the executive officers of the company is (or has been during the past three years) a member of the board of directors or the compensation committee of any company on which any of our directors serves as an executive officer, director or member of the compensation committee. No compensation committee member during 2021 or any entity in which such member has a 5% or more interest or by whom such

member is employed has received any consulting, advisory or other compensatory fees paid by the company or any of its subsidiaries, other than fees received by such member for serving on our board of directors, serving on or attending meetings of committees of our board, acting as a liaison between the board and/or its committees and management on matters specified by the board or otherwise working on matters specified by the board. We are not aware of any facts or circumstances that would make any member of the compensation committee during 2021 an affiliate of the company.

Based on information solicited from each director, the board has determined that none of our directors, other than Mr. Sprowls, has a material relationship with us, either directly or indirectly as a partner, shareholder or officer of an organization that has a relationship with us and is otherwise independent under the corporate governance standards of the New York Stock Exchange. We have not adopted any other categorical standards for determining whether a board member is independent.

The board determined that Ms. Anderson, Dr. Bontá, Mr. Davis, Mr. Fielder, Ms. Holloway, Ms. Hopkins, Mr. Levin and Ms. Wilkins are independent directors. In determining that these directors are independent, the board considered the following facts:

We did not identify any other businesses or other relationships between us and any non-employee director that would affect the independence of these directors nor did the board consider any other relationships or transactions in determining director independence. The board has also affirmatively determined that all members of the audit and finance committee, nominating and governance committee and compensation committee, including Ms. Holloway, are or were independent directors under the corporate governance listing standards of the New York Stock Exchange and that all members of the audit and finance committee are independent under the standards set forth in Rule 10A-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

No member of the audit and finance committee served on more than three public company boards during 2021.

No executive officer or any of his or her immediate family members had any indebtedness to us or any transactions or proposed transactions with us since January 2021.

We have adopted a code of conduct and guidelines on significant governance issues, which include policies and procedures regarding relationships between us and our directors and executive officers. Information about how to obtain a copy of the code of conduct and guidelines on significant governance issues is set forth in this proxy statement under the heading, “Obtaining Additional Information from Us.”

Under the company’s guidelines on significant governance issues, directors are expected to make business opportunities relating to the company’s business available to the company before pursuing the opportunity for the director’s own or another’s account. Neither the board nor the audit and finance committee has approved any other guidelines that would permit a director or executive officer to engage in any transactions or actions that would create a conflict of interest. All conflict of interest transactions must be approved by disinterested members of the board and the audit and finance committee in accordance with California law and the rules of the New York Stock Exchange.

Our code of conduct prohibits any director or executive officer from engaging in any transactions or other actions, which create a conflict of interest, except under guidelines approved by the board or the audit and finance committee. A conflict of interest arises if a director or executive officer takes an action or has interests that may make it difficult for the director or executive officer to act objectively or effectively and include:

Our guidelines on significant governance issues also require each director to disclose to the board any financial or personal interest in any transaction that comes before the board for approval. Each director and executive officer are also required to disclose annually any relationships with the company and to declare that all such relationships during the prior year have been disclosed. Our board did not consider any transactions in which any member of the board or executive officer had an interest in 2021 or any related party transactions subject to disclosure under Auditing Standard No. 2410.

We do not provide loans, loan guarantees or otherwise extend credit, directly or indirectly, to any of our executive officers or directors.

None of our current executive officers, directors, or any affiliate or owner of more than 5% of our common shares has been a party adverse to us in any material legal proceeding or been involved in any legal proceedings that the SEC has identified as being material to the evaluation of the ability or integrity of a director or executive officer.

We adopted a policy that each director should make every reasonable effort to attend each annual meeting of shareholders. All directors were present at our 2021 annual meeting.

You or any interested person may, at any time, communicate in writing with the chair of the board who presides at regularly scheduled board meetings and executive sessions, any particular director or non-management directors as a group, by writing to our corporate secretary at American States Water Company, 630 East Foothill Boulevard, San Dimas, California 91773. We will provide copies of written communications received at this address to the relevant director or the non-management directors as a group unless the corporate secretary, in her reasonable judgment, considers the communications to be improper for submission to the intended recipient(s). Examples of communications considered improper for submission include customer complaints, solicitations, ordinary work employee grievances, communications that do not relate directly or indirectly to our business, and communications that relate to improper or irrelevant topics.

If you want us to include your shareholder proposal in our proxy materials for the 2023 annual meeting, you must submit the proposal to our corporate secretary at American States Water Company, 630 East Foothill Boulevard, San Dimas, California 91773. Our corporate secretary must receive your proposal no later than December 8, 2022. Your proposal must also satisfy the other requirements for shareholder proposals set forth in Rule 14a-8 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

A shareholder making a shareholder proposal should state as clearly as possible the course of action that the shareholder believes we should follow. If we place a shareholder proposal on the proxy card, we will provide, in the form of proxy, the means for other shareholders to specify, by checking a box, as to whether they want to approve, disapprove or abstain from voting on the shareholder proposal.

If you want your shareholder proposal to be considered at the 2023 annual meeting and you have not met the deadline for us to include your shareholder proposal in our proxy materials, you may nevertheless submit your proposal for consideration at the 2023 annual meeting if you comply with the following procedures.

You must deliver or mail your notice to our corporate secretary at American States Water Company, 630 East Foothill Boulevard, San Dimas, California 91773 stating that you intend to submit a shareholder proposal at our 2023 annual meeting. Our corporate secretary must receive your notice between February 22, 2023 and March 9, 2023, unless we change our 2023 annual meeting date by more than 30 days from the date of our 2022 annual meeting, in which case, our corporate secretary must receive your notice no later than the close of business on the tenth day following the day on which we mail you notice of the meeting or the date on which we publicly disclose the date of the meeting.

Your notice to our corporate secretary must include for each matter you propose to bring before the 2023 annual meeting:

We have a sustainability oversight management team, which is responsible for the policies and operational controls of environmental, health, safety and social risks. The nominating and governance committee has oversight responsibilities for our sustainability policies and practices.

Highlights of some of our environmental policies and practices include:

Highlights of our social responsibility policies and practices include:

The following table identifies shareholders who owned more than 5% of our outstanding common shares on April 1, 2022.

We are providing you information in the table below regarding the number of our common shares beneficially owned by our directors and executive officers as of April 1, 2022, including common shares which each director and executive officer has a right to acquire on or prior to May 31, 2022.

We have adopted procedures to assist our directors and executive officers in complying with Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including assisting directors and executive officers with preparing and filing statements on Form 3, Form 4 and, if applicable, Form 5. We believe, on the basis of our review of the statements filed by directors and executive officers in 2021, that the following statements on Form 4 were filed late:

We have provided information on the following pages about each of our directors, including his or her age, years of service as a director of the company, educational background, business experience, service on other boards and community service activities. The process used by the board in nominating directors is a subjective one and is based on the recommendations of the nominating and governance committee, the background, qualifications and age of each of the other members of the board, considered as a group, and the evaluation of the performance of each director based on previous service on the board, board committees and as liaisons between management and the board or a committee or otherwise working on matters specified by the board.

Our board of directors has nominated three persons as class II directors for a three-year term expiring at the end of our annual meeting of shareholders in 2025 or until their successors are duly elected and qualified.

The ages of the directors reported on the following pages are as of April 1, 2022.

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS THAT YOU VOTE “FOR ALL” of the nominees listed below.

Our board has three class III directors with terms expiring at the end of the annual meeting in 2023 or until their successors are duly elected and qualified.

Our board has three class I directors with terms expiring at the end of the annual meeting in 2024 or until their successors are duly elected and qualified.

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We paid fees to each of our directors quarterly in cash and made awards of restricted stock units to our directors in 2021 pursuant to the terms of the 2013 directors plan as more particularly described below. We also reimbursed each of our directors in 2021 for expenses incurred in the performance of his or her duties as a director.

We paid fees to non-employee directors of the board in 2021 for services rendered on the following basis, payable in equal quarterly installments:

We granted restricted stock units to each non-employee director on the date of the annual meeting in 2021 for services rendered as a director in an amount equal to an amount established by the board prior to the annual meeting divided by the closing price of our common shares on the trading day immediately preceding the date of the annual meeting as shown on The Wall Street Journal website (www.wsj.com). The amount of the grants by the board to directors in 2021 was $40,000, or 38% of the annual retainer fee in effect on the date of the grant.

Under the terms of the 2013 directors plan, the amount of restricted stock units granted by the board to directors after the date of the 2012 annual meeting of shareholders may not exceed two times the amount of the then-current annual retainer payable by the company for services rendered as a director for such year, or, if there is no such annual retainer, the average amount of cash compensation received by such non-employee director during the prior fiscal year. Restricted stock units granted will vest 90 days after the grant date. In addition, until vested, each non-employee director is entitled to receive restricted stock units on the dividend record date in an amount equal to the cash dividends payable on this date on a number of shares equal to the aggregate number of restricted stock units credited to each non-employee director’s restricted stock unit account divided by the closing price of our common shares on the dividend payment date, as shown on The Wall Street Journal website (www.wsj.com), which we refer to as dividend equivalents. No awards may be granted under the 2013 directors plan after May 20, 2023.

Each non-employee director who received an award of restricted stock units in 2003 through 2008 in the form of retirement stock units was also credited in 2021 with restricted stock units on each dividend record date in an amount equal to the cash dividends payable on this date on a number of shares equal to the aggregate number of undistributed restricted stock units credited to each non-employee director’s restricted stock unit account divided by the closing price of our common shares on the dividend record date, as shown on The Wall Street Journal website (www.wsj.com). Dr. Bontá and Ms. Holloway are the only current directors who have received awards of retirement stock units.

In July 2021, Pearl Meyer provided an overview of director compensation to the compensation committee and the board which indicated that market director compensation had increased by $20,000 to $25,000 over the past several years. The last time that the company increased director compensation was in January 2019. Based on the information in this overview, Pearl Meyer concluded that the compensation paid to the company’s directors

was below the 25^th percentile of the market. The company discussed the results of the Pearl Meyer presentation and several means of increasing board compensation at its July and October 2021 board meetings. In October 2021, the board approved an increase in the cash retainer for directors by $20,000 to $125,000 effective January 1, 2022.

We have no incentive compensation, deferred compensation or pension plans for non-employee directors.

Under our director stock ownership guidelines, as amended in July 2018, effective January 1, 2019, we have requested each non-employee member of our board to accumulate and hold common shares of the company, restricted stock units or other equity equivalents (other than stock options) granted by the company equal in value to at least three times his or her annual retainer for board service. Non-employee directors are also prohibited from selling or transferring common shares acquired by vesting of restricted stock units until he or she satisfies these requirements. The nominating and governance committee may suspend or adjust these guidelines if the nominating and governance committee determines that the guidelines are unduly burdensome by reason of personal circumstances affecting a director, are unduly affected by temporary declines in the price of our common shares or there has been a recent change in the compensation of directors. We have not exempted any of our directors from compliance with these guidelines. We consider these guidelines to have been satisfied once the minimum ownership requirements have been satisfied regardless of subsequent changes in the market value of our common shares. Each current member of our board, other than Mr. Davis and Ms. Hopkins, owns common shares, restricted stock units or other equity equivalents granted by the company at least equal in value to three times his or her annual retainer. Ms. Hopkins was elected to the board at the 2019 annual meeting and does not yet meet this threshold. As a result, she cannot sell any of our common shares acquired upon vesting of restricted stock units until she meets this threshold. Mr. Davis was elected to the board at the 2021 annual meeting and does not yet meet this threshold. As a result, he cannot sell any of our common shares acquired upon vesting of restricted stock units until he meets this threshold.

We have set forth the principal occupation of each of our executive officers in the following table. Unless otherwise specified, the principal position of the executive officer is with American States Water Company. Mr. Sprowls, Ms. Tang and Ms. Farrow are also officers of each of our direct and indirect subsidiaries, other than Bear Valley Electric Service, Inc. The age of each executive officer is current as of April 1, 2022.

In this section, we describe the philosophy and objectives of our executive compensation programs, explain the compensation decision-making process, summarize the individual components of total compensation for our named executive officers and provide you with our assessment of our compensation program in 2021. We provide more detailed information regarding the compensation paid to our named executive officers during the past three years in the tables following this section and in the narrative discussion after each of these tables. For 2021, our named executive officers and their positions included:

We also provide information comparing our performance to our peer group. You can find information about the composition of our peer group in this section under the heading “Compensation Committee Process.” The compensation committee made its decisions regarding compensation of our named executive officers in 2021 based, in part, on this peer group information. We have compared our financial performance during the past three and five years to members of our peer group.

For the 10-year period ended December 31, 2021, the company achieved a compound annual growth rate of 8.7% in consolidated diluted earnings per share and 9.8% growth in dividends. Over the past five years, we also achieved:

Additional facts regarding the company’s financial performance can be found under the heading “Financial Reports” on the company’s website at www.aswater.com.

The following table compares our cumulative total shareholder return, including reinvested dividends, for the five years ended December 31, 2021 to the cumulative total shareholder return, including reinvested dividends, for the same period of the S&P 500 and the members of our current peer group.

 

The compensation committee desires to implement the company’s executive compensation program in a manner that will enable the company to:

We also link compensation for our executives to performance on metrics for customer satisfaction, supplier diversity, employee safety and capital investment for reliability and water quality.

The principal elements of our compensation program include a base salary, annual cash incentives (a portion of which is based on achieving financial, operational and customer service objectives during the year), and annual equity grants (a portion of which is based on achieving financial and operational performance objectives during a three-year performance period). We refer to the combination of these elements of compensation as total direct compensation.

The compensation committee set the target percentages presented in the charts below for each component of total direct compensation in 2021 based on 26 pay periods, assuming that each named executive officer would earn the aggregate target during the year in annual cash incentives and at the target level following the end of the three-year performance period for the performance stock awards, and makes adjustments to normalize total compensation for any named executive officer that either retired or was promoted during 2021. As these charts show, approximately 72% and 39% of target total direct compensation (salary, bonus and equity) is variable (or “at-risk”) for our CEO and other named executive officers (NEO), respectively.

 

In determining the target percentages for each component of total direct compensation, the compensation committee considered the practices of our current peer group, how well the company’s pay levels are aligned with performance compared to the company’s current peer group, the views and practices of the CPUC in setting rates, the practices of the two water utilities regulated by the CPUC that are members of our current peer group, the preference of proxy advisory firms for significant portions of total direct compensation to consist of variable pay based on the satisfaction of objective performance targets and the prior year’s performance of the executive officer. The compensation committee also believes that it is generally important for more of the compensation of the chief executive officer to be dependent on performance than that of the other executive officers.

The mix of total direct compensation awarded in 2021 which will be received by a named executive officer (which does not include the actuarial calculation of the change in pension value or other compensation shown in the Summary Compensation Table) may be different from the target mix depending upon a variety of factors, the value of some of which cannot yet be determined. The factors affecting actual total direct compensation awarded in 2021 that have not yet been determined include:

During the review of our overall executive compensation program in January 2021 and January 2022, our consultant (Pearl Meyer) reviewed the relationship between realizable total direct compensation of our CEO and our performance for the three, three-year periods ended December 31, 2019, December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2021. These reviews were conducted to assist the compensation committee in understanding the degree of alignment between realizable total direct compensation delivered to the CEO during these three-year periods and our performance relative to our peer group. For purposes of this review, company performance is defined as total shareholder return (including reinvested dividends) over the respective three-year period. For the three-year period ended December 31, 2020, total direct peer group realizable compensation is defined as the sum of:

As a second comparison, we also reviewed our CEO’s pay for performance using realizable pay from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2021 compared to total shareholder return (including reinvested dividends) over the same period. Peer company pay is based on 2019 and 2020 actual pay with an estimate of 2021 pay equal to 2020 since 2021 pay information for most of our peers was not available at the time of this analysis.

For all performance periods, the company’s performance has been greater than its relative CEO pay rank for the peer group. We believe that this indicates an efficient compensation plan design relative to performance achieved.

The following chart further illustrates the pay for performance analysis of our CEO using realizable pay relative to each member of our current peer group over the two pay periods, 2018-2020 and 2019-2021.

 

The compensation committee annually reviews our executive compensation program in order to assess whether the program continues to meet the objectives of the program. The compensation committee typically engages a compensation consultant to assist the committee.

The compensation committee engaged Pearl Meyer in August 2011 as a compensation consultant to the committee. After a consideration of the merits of engaging a new compensation consultant compared to the benefits of retaining Pearl Meyer and an independence assessment of Pearl Meyer, the committee decided to extend the engagement of Pearl Meyer for 2021. In conducting its independence assessment, the compensation committee concluded that no conflicts of interest existed between the company and Pearl Meyer (or any individuals working on the company’s account on behalf of Pearl Meyer). We provide additional information regarding this assessment under the heading “Compensation Committee - Is our compensation consultant independent?”

Pearl Meyer identified and selected a peer group of companies. The selection process included input from management. The final peer group was approved by the compensation committee.

Our current peer group is presented below:

Owing to the limited number of similarly sized water utilities (with annual revenues between $418 million and $1.52 billion), our current peer companies were selected based on similarity in industry (water, gas and electric utilities) and size. The compensation committee considered compensation information for this same group of companies during the past two years.

Three members of the current peer group are principally in the water industry, two of which are also regulated by the CPUC, the regulator of the company’s principal subsidiary. The compensation committee often gives greater weight to the practices of the two CPUC-regulated companies since the company competes with these companies for executive talent and is subject to similar regulatory oversight. In addition, the compensation committee believes that the financial and operational performance of these companies and the compensation programs of these companies are particularly relevant since the ability of these companies to earn their authorized rate of return and to obtain rate adjustments for changes in employee compensation are also affected to some extent by the rules, regulations and practices of the CPUC. These companies are, to some extent, also affected by the same weather, climate and economic conditions as the company. The other companies in our current peer group are utilities or utility holding companies.

The compensation committee considered the competitive assessment of the company’s executive compensation program provided by Pearl Meyer in January 2021 based on information derived by Pearl Meyer from the peer group and Towers Watson-2020 Top Management Compensation Survey (all industries) and two confidential/proprietary general industry surveys. The survey information was summary in nature, did not identify any particular company and did not contain any information regarding the compensation program of any particular company. Accordingly, the compensation committee did not consider the compensation practice of any company, other than the compensation practices of members of our peer group in January 2021, in designing any of the company’s compensation plans.

Pearl Meyer noted in the competitive assessment provided to the compensation committee that, in the aggregate, actual total direct compensation of the executive officers of the company was 4% above the 50^th percentile. Target total direct compensation was set between the 25^th and 50^th percentile. Similar to prior years, the company’s target pay mix remains more heavily weighted toward base salaries and less toward

long-term incentives than market.

In addition to the information provided by Pearl Meyer, the compensation committee considered:

The compensation committee has conducted a review of the company’s incentive compensation programs, the safeguards in place to prevent fraud by management in manipulating the company’s compensation programs and the potential risks associated with certain scenarios assuming management misreported the company’s performance for the purposes of inflating results under the company’s incentive compensation plans. The compensation committee has also considered whether the company’s overall compensation program encourages unnecessary or excessive risk taking and has concluded that it does not.

Base salaries, which constitute the largest component of total direct compensation for all employees of the company, other than the CEO, are fixed in amount and thus should not encourage excessive risk taking.

The compensation committee considers a variety of factors in awarding additional cash compensation based on the performance of its executive officers, including factors based on earnings performance, customer satisfaction, employee safety, supplier diversity, improvements in operations and internal controls. The committee believes that, because of this mix of factors, the company’s short-term cash incentive program appropriately balances risk and the committee’s desire to compensate executives for accomplishments that are important to the company’s customers and shareholders.

The compensation committee also makes awards of restricted stock units and performance stock to executive officers. Restricted stock units and performance stock awards granted vest at the rate of 33% in the first year, 33% in the second year and 34% in the third year and, with respect to performance stock awards, provide for determination of whether the performance criteria have been satisfied after the end of a three-year performance period, subject to limited exceptions. In addition, we may not repurchase any options granted to any executive

officers or managers or reprice any options awarded to any executive officer or manager. The compensation committee believes that these features of our equity plans further discourage excessive risk-taking by executives. In addition, the vesting schedule serves as a retention vehicle for executive officers and managers.

In order to mitigate risks that may be associated with performance-based compensation, the compensation committee maintains a clawback policy to recoup cash and equity performance-based compensation payments if:

All awards made to executives under our 2016 plan and all awards made under our short-term cash incentive plan are subject to this policy and any rights to repayment that the company may have under Section 304 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and other applicable laws.

We adopted a policy that prohibits hedging or monetization transactions, such as prepaid variable contracts, equity swaps, collars and exchange funds that allow an officer or director to lock in much of the value of his or her holdings of our common shares, often in exchange for all or part of the potential for the upside appreciation in our common shares. We have also adopted a policy that prohibits our officers or directors from holding our common shares in a margin account and, absent a waiver by the nominating and governance committee, the pledging of our common shares as collateral for a loan by our officers and directors. The nominating and governance committee may only grant a waiver of our anti-pledging policy if the officer or director desires to pledge our common shares as collateral for a loan and has established, to the satisfaction of the nominating and governance committee, that the officer or director is able to repay the loan without resorting to the pledged securities. Each of our officers and directors has represented to us that he or she has not purchased any financial instrument designed to hedge or offset any decrease in the market value of any company common shares held, directly or indirectly, by such officer or director, held any of our securities in a margin account or pledged any of our common shares as collateral for a loan since the adoption of this policy. We have not adopted any policy prohibiting hedging or pledging by any employee who is not an officer.

In addition to establishing and reviewing our compensation program, the compensation committee also examines the pay practices and policies relating to all employees of the company. Based on this examination, the compensation committee has concluded that our pay practices and policies do not appear to involve risks that could have a material adverse effect on us.

Our compensation program consists of base salary, short-term cash incentives, stock awards, retirement benefits, severance arrangements and welfare and other benefits and perquisites. We discuss each of these elements in more detail on the next page. The compensation committee considers each of these elements independently before assessing whether its overall compensation program is competitive with that of our current peer group and other companies with which the company competes for executive talent.

We pay a base salary to enable us to attract and retain talented executive officers and to provide a fixed base of compensation commensurate with the individual responsibilities, performance and experience of each of our executives.

The compensation committee considered the following factors in setting the base salaries of individual named executive officers in 2021:

After consideration of the factors described above, the compensation committee increased the base salary of Mr. Sprowls by 3.6%, the base salary of Ms. Tang and Ms. Farrow by 4.5%, the base salary of Mr. Rowley and Ms. Kruger by 4.0%, and the base salary of Mr. Switzer by 3.8% in January 2021.

We adopted a short-term cash performance incentive plan to motivate named executives who participate in the plan to maximize our performance from a financial, operations and customer service perspective. We believe that the performance incentives set forth in our annual short-term cash incentive programs will encourage achievement of our objectives. Our customers and shareholders benefit if we achieve our customer service objectives. Our customers and shareholders also benefit if we can attract capital at a lower cost as a result of improved financial performance.

In March 2021, the compensation committee approved a short-term cash incentive program, which gave each named executive officer the opportunity to receive:

The table below outlines the range of cash incentives approved by the compensation committee in 2021 for each named executive officer under the plan.

Under this program, the compensation committee approves specific performance metrics for each named executive officer for the objective cash incentive depending on his or her responsibilities within the company,