20160831clarification_order_no_33580.pdf

BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
IN THE MATTER OF SCHWEITZER BASIN )
WATER LLC'S APPLICATION FOR A ) CASE NO. SCH-W-15-01
CERTIFICATE OF PUBLIC CONVENIENCE )
AND NECESSITY ) ORDER NO. 33580
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Office of the Secretary
Service Date
August 31, 2016
In February 2015, Schweitzer Basin Water LLC filed an Application asking the
Commission for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN), pursuant to Idaho
Code§ 61-526. Schweitzer is a privately-owned community water system serving full-time and
part-time residential customers at the Schweitzer Mountain Resort in Bonner County. The
Commission issued a Notice of Application and Notice of Modified Procedure regarding the
CPCN and the Company's proposed rates. Order No. 33308. In June 2016, after considering the
record, including Staff's comments and the Company's reply, the Commission granted
Schweitzer a CPCN and approved rates for delivery of water services. Order No. 33543. The
Order also addressed various non-recurring fees, including a fee for insufficient funds of $30. Id.
at 13.
The Company has worked with Commission Staff to draft a tariff that complies with
Order No. 33543. The Company requests an effective date for its proposed tariff of July 1, 2016.
Staff recommended the Commission approve the proposed effective date, and also raised an
issue for our consideration regarding the Company's insufficient funds fee, which we now
amend to $20 as discussed below. With this change, we order that the Company's tariff is
approved and effective as of July 1, 2016.
INSUFFICIENT FUNDS FEE
1. Staff Comments and Company Reply. In Staffs comments in this case, Staff
noted that a charge for insufficient funds "is allowable under [Idaho Code § 28-22-105]," and
that the Commission has [previously] allowed utility tariffs to identify this type of charge .... "
Comments at 13, citing Order Nos. 32152 (Case No. TRH-W-10-01) and 30938 (Case No. SPL­
W-09-01). Staff recommended a charge of $20.
The Company indicated that it "has never had a customer check returned due to
insufficient funds." See Order No. 33543 at 12. But according to the Company, if a customer
pays a water bill with a check drawn on insufficient funds that the Company then deposits, the
ORDER NO. 33580
Company's bank would charge a fee of $29.85 for the returned check." Id.; Reply at 5, 7
(Schedule of Fees from Mountain West Bank). The Company would then need to "send a
second invoice, process a second check, and enter it into the billing system again," thus the
Company proposed that it be allowed to charge customers a $40 fee for a returned check, to
cover bank charges and administrative expenses. Id.
Citing the Company's $29.85 bank charge, the Commission found that allowing the
Company to charge a $30 insufficient funds fee is "fair, just and reasonable." Order No. 33543
at 13. The Commission also found that such a fee is "consistent with the Commission's prior
rulings in similar cases involving 'returned check charges' utilized by other small water utilities
in Idaho," citing Order Nos. 32152 at 10 and 30938 at 3. Id.
2. Staff Clarification and the Company's Agreement. Since Order No. 33543 was
issued, Staff has been working with the Company to ensure the tariff complies with the Order
and with applicable law. Staff noted that the $29.85 bank charge, according to the Company's
attached bank fee schedule, is for a "Return Item Fee" or "Overdraft" by a debit or check paid.
See Reply at 5. The fee for a "deposited item returned" -e.g., a check from a water customer,
deposited by Schweitzer and returned for insufficient funds -is only $4.00. Id. On a recent
inquiry, Staff reported that the bank's current fee for a deposited item returned has been reduced
to only $2.00.
Staff contacted the Company and clarified the difference between the bank's return
item fee and deposited item returned fee. As a result of these communications, Staff also noted
that Idaho Code § 28-22-105 not only allows a charge for insufficient funds, but also limits the
charge to no more than $20. Accordingly, the Company has agreed that a $20 fee is appropriate
for customers whose checks are returned due to insufficient funds.
COMMISSION FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
Pursuant to Idaho Code § 61-624, the "commission may at any time, upon notice to
the public utility affected ... rescind, alter or amend any order or decision made by it."
Under Idaho law, the drawer of a check is liable to the holder when the check "has
been dishonored by nonacceptance or nonpayment" and the holder has notified the drawer of that
fact. Idaho Code § 28-22-105. The drawer's liability to the holder includes interest and the cost
of collection, but such amount shall "not exceed [$20] or the face amount of the check,
ORDER NO. 33580 2
whichever is the lesser." Id Our finding in Order No. 33543 regarding an insufficient funds fee
was based on incomplete information regarding the application of this statute.
Based on a full reading of the applicable statute, we must amend our prior finding
allowing the Company to recover $30 as an insufficient funds fee. Consistent with Idaho Code §
28-22-105, we find it reasonable to allow the Company to charge its customers a $20 fee for
checks returned due to insufficient funds. All other findings and conclusions of the Commission
in Order No. 33543 remain unchanged. We therefore approve the Company's proposed tariff,
which includes a $20 insufficient funds fee, with an effective date of July 1, 2016.
ORDER
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Order No. 33543 is amended to reflect that the
Company is allowed to charge an insufficient funds fee of $20.00, as discussed herein.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Company's proposed tariff, already submitted
and on file with the Commission, is approved, with an effective date of July 1, 2016.
THIS IS A FINAL ORDER. Any person interested in this Order may petition for
reconsideration within twenty-one (21) days of the service date of this Order. Within seven (7)
days after any person has petitioned for reconsideration, any other person may cross-petition for
reconsideration. See Idaho Code § 61-626.
ORDER NO. 33580 3
DONE by Order of the Idaho Public Utilities Commission at Boise, Idaho this 3/ st
day of August 2016.
ATTEST:
O:SCH-W-15-0l_djh_NSF Fee
ORDER NO. 33580 4