20210422Interlocutory_Order_No_35017.pdf

ORDER NO. 35017 1
Office of the Secretary
Service Date
April 22, 2021
BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION

APPLICATION OF CDS STONERIDGE
UTILITIES, LLC TO CHANGE RATES FOR
NON-REFUNDABLE HOOK-UP FEE FOR
NEW WATER CONNECTIONS
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CASE NO. SWS-W-20-01

ORDER NO. 35017

On March 25, 2021, the Idaho Public Utilities Commission (the “Commission”)
authorized CDS Stoneridge Utilities, LLC (“Stoneridge” or “Company”) to increase the fee for a
new customer to physically connect to Stoneridge’s water system (the “Hook-Up Fee” or “Hook-
Up Fees”). See Order No. 34969 at 5. The increased Hook-Up Fee or Hook-Up Fees became
effective on the issuance date of Order No. 34969, March 25, 2021. Id. at 6. In Order No. 34969
the Commission also approved modifications and additions to Stoneridge’s existing Tariff and
directed the Company to file a new tariff conforming with Order No. 34969 within 10 days of this
Final Order’s issuance. Id.
On April 8, 2021, Stoneridge submitted its modified Tariff (“Modified Tariff”). On
April 16, 2021, the Commission Staff filed a Decision Memorandum for consideration by the
Commission asserting that the Modified Tariff was not in conformance with Order No. 34969 and
should be rejected by the Commission.1
Having reviewed the record, the Commission rejects Stoneridge’s Modified Tariff and
suspends the effective date of the approved increase to Hook-Up Fees until Stoneridge files and
the Commission approves a new tariff that complies with Order No. 34969.
COMMISSION FINDINGS AND DECISION
The Commission has jurisdiction over Stoneridge and the issues in this case under Title
61 of the Idaho Code. Specifically, the Commission regulates “public utilities,” including “water
corporations” that serve the public or some portion thereof for compensation. See Idaho Code §§
61-125, -129, and -501.
In Order No. 34969, we specified the only Hook-Up Fees that Stoneridge was
authorized to charge its customers, and the exact language that Stoneridge was to include in
its new Tariff. We also ordered Stoneridge to file a new tariff that conformed to Order No.

1 See IDAPA 31.01.01.133.02.

ORDER NO. 35017 2
34969. Instead of submitting a conforming tariff as ordered, Stoneridge filed the Modified
Tariff. We have reviewed the Modified Tariff and find it does not conform to Order No. 34969.
First, Stoneridge has made substantial, unauthorized changes to the language that we approved
for Stoneridge’s new tariff. Stoneridge also added new definitions that had not been presented
to or reviewed and approved by the Commission. Third, Stoneridge’s unauthorized
modifications to the Commission-approved schedule of Hook-Up Fees from Order No. 34969
are inappropriate and could lead to customers being charged potentially higher, illegal Hook-
Up Fees. Based on the foregoing, the Modified Tariff is not a conforming tariff as required
by the Order. We thus reject Stoneridge’s Modified Tariff, and it shall not take effect. See
Idaho Code § 61-622(5); see also Commission Rule of Procedure 133.02, IDAPA
31.01.01.131.02. Our decision to allow the new tariff to go into effect upon issuance of our
final order (March 25) was premised and contingent on the submission of a conforming tariff.
Consequently, we find it just and reasonable to stay Final Order No. 34969 until Stoneridge (1)
files a tariff that conforms with Order No. 34969, and (2) obtains the Commission’s approval of
that tariff. See IDAPA Rule 31.01.01.324. Until these conditions are met, Stoneridge may charge
new customers the $1,200 Hook-Up Fee for connecting to the system that is authorized in
Stoneridge’s existing, Commission-approved Tariff.
More than a century ago, the United States Supreme Court recognized a bedrock
principle of utility regulation: a public utility consents to regulation whenever the utility serves
customers under a state-granted franchise. See Munn v. Illinois, 94 U.S. 113, 125-32 (1876)
(When someone “devotes his property to a use in which the public has an interest, he, in effect,
grants to the public an interest in that use, and must submit to be controlled by the public for
the common good. . . . [So] long as he maintains the use, he must submit to the control”); see
also Idaho Power & Light Co., v. Blomquist, 25 Idaho 222, 241, 141 P. 1083, 1088 (1914) (By
granting a franchise to a public utility corporation, the state does not abrogate its rights to exercise
the police power of the state over and it may regulate how public utility corporations shall construct
their lines and carry on their business within the state.)
We have repeatedly admonished Stoneridge that it must comply with the Idaho
Public Utilities Laws and the Commission’s rules and orders. See e.g., Order No. 34974, SWS-
W-20-02. Stoneridge’s continuing failure to comply with these authorities, including the
requirements of this Order, may lead the Commission to take additional action as the

ORDER NO. 35017 3
Commission may deem necessary and appropriate. See Idaho Code § 61-706 (Any public
utility that violates the public utilities laws, Commission orders or rules, or any part of them,
is subject to a penalty of up to $2,000 per day, with each violation constituting a separate
offense, and each day’s continuing violation constituting a separate offense).
ORDER
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Modified Tariff, submitted by the Company, is
rejected and of no effect.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Order No. 34969 be stayed pursuant to IDAPA Rule
31.01.01.324. Stoneridge’s existing Tariff remains in effect. Stoneridge is authorized to charge
new customers a $1,200 Hook-Up Fee to connect to its water system until such time as the
Commission reviews and approves a tariff submission that conforms with Order No. 34969.
THIS IS AN INTERLOCUTORY ORDER, not a final and appealable Order of the
Commission. The period of reconsideration will not begin until the final Order is issued.
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ORDER NO. 35017 4
DONE by Order of the Idaho Public Utilities Commission at Boise, Idaho this 22nd day
of April 2021.

PAUL KJELLANDER, PRESIDENT

KRISTINE RAPER, COMMISSIONER

ERIC ANDERSON, COMMISSIONER

ATTEST:

Jan Noriyuki
Commission Secretary

I:\Legal\WATER\SWS-W-20-01\orders\SWSW2001_order_tariff_jh.docx