CALIFORNIA WATER SERVICE GROUP

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

SCHEDULE 14A

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the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Amendment No. )

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California Water Service Group

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A Letter from our Chairman, President & CEO

It is my pleasure to invite you to join us for the California Water Service Group 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders at 9:30 a.m. Pacific Time on Wednesday, May 29, 2024. Once again, we will hold the Annual Meeting online to allow for greater participation by all of our stockholders, regardless of their geographic location. Please see the Notice of Annual Meeting on the next page for more information.

Your vote is very important. We encourage you to read the Proxy Statement and vote your shares at your earliest convenience, even if you plan to attend the meeting.​

Sincerely,

Martin A. Kropelnicki

Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer

As I look back on 2023, I am proud of all we accomplished while navigating complex regulatory challenges. Although our financial performance was impacted by the lack of a decision from the California Public Utilities Commission on our 2021 General Rate Case, we provided high-quality, affordable water and excellent service to approximately two million people and demonstrated our commitment to enhancing the quality of life in our communities.

In 2023, we invested a record $383.7 million in our water infrastructure, which included installation of 159,822 feet of water mains and replacement and/or upgrade of 91 storage tanks, 26 water quality treatment plants, and 16 panel board and generators. We also invested in increased groundwater pumping capacity in certain basins and strengthened our physical security.

We conducted more than half a million water quality tests in 2023, meeting or surpassing every applicable state and federal water quality standard set to protect public health and safety. We also established a multi-functional team to prepare and execute a robust program to meet new PFAS standards and revised lead and copper rule requirements.

As part of our emergency preparedness program, in 2023 we hosted nearly 20 emergency response events with more than 50 local and state agencies to collaborate and rehearse our emergency response plans. During the year, we continued to invest in employee training and continuing education and deployed 48 members of our Operations Rapid Response Team to emergencies and natural disasters. During the West Maui fires in Lahaina, our crews worked around the clock in extreme fire conditions to ensure our pumps never stopped and our systems stayed pressurized.

On a related note, we did exceedingly well on our customer service performance metrics for the year. We actively engage with our customers and seek their feedback through multiple channels including annual surveys, focus groups, and a new post-service survey platform implemented in 2023. To help customers with past-due balances accrued during the pandemic, we applied for $83 million in grant funding, and in April 2023 we were ranked number one in Customer Satisfaction Among Large Water Utilities in the West Region by J.D. Power.

Finally, we made significant progress on our ESG journey in 2023. We completed our first Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol-aligned Inventory for Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions and announced our commitment to reduce absolute Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions by 63% by 2035 from a 2021 base year. This past year we also published our inaugural 2023 CDP Climate Change questionnaire response, which includes detailed energy- and emissions-related data, information about our efforts to minimize energy use and emissions, and a discussion of our climate change-related strategy, governance, and risk management.

On behalf of the California Water Service Group Board of Directors, thank you for your continued support and investment.

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A Letter from our Lead Independent Director

As lead independent director, I join Marty Kropelnicki in inviting you to attend our 2024 annual meeting of Stockholders.

I believe I speak for all of the Company’s independent directors in saying that we are proud of the Company’s progress in the past year, and of the role sound governance and appropriate oversight played in fostering that progress. The Board of Directors, together with the Management Team, bring diverse expertise and perspectives to create long-term sustainable value for our stockholders and other critical stakeholders by executing our strategy, mitigating risk, and fulfilling our purpose as a leading provider of water and wastewater utility services.

It is the Board’s responsibility to provide independent leadership, both at the board and committee levels. At the board level, we are focused on building a board with strong governance and the right mix of skills, experiences, and backgrounds to provide rigorous and independent oversight of the Company’s strategy, performance, and culture.

We had a notable year in 2023 as Marty Kropelnicki was elected as our Company’s 10th Chairman of the Board. We make decisions about the Board’s leadership structure within a governance framework that provides the Board flexibility to select the best structure based on the specific needs of the business at the time and what we believe is in the best interests of stockholders.

This year’s Board nominees represent a wide range of backgrounds and expertise. We believe our diversity of experiences, perspectives, and skills contributes to the Board’s effectiveness in managing risk and overseeing strategy and execution, positioning us for long-term success.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank and recognize the many contributions of Terry P. Bayer, our esteemed colleague who left the board in 2023 for medical reasons. We also welcomed two highly qualified new directors to our board last year. Charles R. Patton, former Executive Vice President, External Affairs, at American Electric Power Company, Inc., and Jeffrey Kightlinger, who retired as the longest serving Chief Executive Officer of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Charles and Jeffrey bring to our board extensive leadership experience and expertise.

The Proxy Statement includes information about the management proposals to be voted on at the Company’s Annual Meeting. We value your vote, and we encourage you to use one of the options laid out in this proxy to vote your shares whether or not you plan to join us for the Annual Meeting. We appreciate your investment in our Company and thank you for the opportunity to serve you and our Company as directors.

Sincerely,

Scott L. Morris

Lead Independent Director

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Notice of Annual Meeting of Stockholders

The 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders of California Water Service Group (Group) will be held on May 29, 2024, at 9:30 a.m. Pacific Time. You will be able to attend the Annual Meeting, vote your shares electronically, and submit your questions during the live webcast by visitingwww.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/CWT2024. At the Annual Meeting, stockholders will consider and vote on the following matters:

These matters are more fully described in the Proxy Statement accompanying this notice. We believe your vote is important. Please submit a proxy as soon as possible so that your shares can be voted at the Annual Meeting in accordance with your instructions. You may submit your proxy: (a) online, (b) by telephone, or (c) by U.S. Postal Service mail. You may revoke your proxy at any time prior to the vote at the Annual Meeting. Of course, in lieu of submitting a proxy, you may vote online during the Annual Meeting. For specific instructions, please refer to “Questions and Answers About the Proxy Materials and the Annual Meeting” in this Proxy Statement and the instructions on the proxy card.

In the event of a technical malfunction or other situation that the Chair determines may affect the ability of the Annual Meeting to satisfy the requirements for a meeting of stockholders to be held by means of remote communication under the Delaware General Corporation Law, or that otherwise makes it advisable to adjourn the Annual Meeting, the Chair or Corporate Secretary will convene the meeting at 10:30 a.m. Pacific Time on the date specified above and at the address specified above solely for the purpose of adjourning the meeting to reconvene at a date, time, and physical or virtual location announced by the Chair or Corporate Secretary. Under either of the foregoing circumstances, we will post information regarding the announcement on our Investor Relations website athttp://ir.calwatergroup.com.

The Group expects to mail the Notice Regarding Internet Availability of Proxy Materials to its stockholders commencing on or about April 17, 2024.

By Order of the Board of Directors

Michelle R. Mortensen

Vice President, Corporate Secretary and Chief of Staff