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Home My WebLink About20241231Comments_2.pdf The following comment was submitted via PUCWeb: Name: STEPHEN MEADOWS Submission Time: Dec 30 2024 3:40PM Email: meadmead8815@gmail.com Telephone: 208-353-0891 Address: 245 S KESTREL PL EAGLE, ID 83616 Name of Utility Company:Veolia Case ID: VEO-W-24-01 Comment: "I am a long time resident of Eagle, since 2001. 1 had been dealing with Eagle Water for decades prior the sale of the water company/utility to Veolia. I was against the sale, especially to a foreign company. A company that shouldn't have any rights to own natural resources here in the States. My bills gets sent/paid out of state. I had no clue it was not buying the whole water company. As part of the purchase agreement made with the IPUC,Veiolia given the right to incease my water bill a certain percentage every month. Incease, UP, to what they said was comparable to other other areas of the Treasure Valley prices. NOW,this foreign company is taking advantage of the Idaho Public Utilities Commission policies which allows companies to spend all kinds, NOT regulated, money for what THEY say is needed repairs and hope for the allowance to do so. SO with the PUC allowing my local utility to DOUBLE DIP me on my water bill. THEY haven't finish with the original deal of purchase to raise my rates. DO NOT let these guys go free range on us. I just retired, my income is limited. I don't I need my water bills going sky high. There wern't any problems with my water before it was sold.Veolia is now saying they are working in my area, and are going to decrease my water pressure to make it in ranges established by Idaho Department of Environmental Quality. What does the IDEA have to do with the pressure in my water pipes?? Nothing I am betting. It is just another smoke screen with big words to try increase their annual income reports. I don't care what they do with Boise rates, whom they claim my bill needs to be comparable to.They haven't done any work in my area, street, block or neighborhood except, add a contraption on the top of my water valve.They actually caused a leak when they did that and let it leak for 4 months. I had to call it to their attention becuse my bill was way out of wack.They couldn't spot that irregularity in up tick of usage?Veolia needs to finish their original deal before asking for even more of an increase.They knew what they were getting when they bought the Eagle Water Company,They knew that half the company was older than the rest and only purchased a chance to up sell for things not needed.Are they trying to incease my bill for things they are doing in Boise and other areas they've repaired? Please watch them for me/us. That is what you are suppose to do for me/us Joe Public right?" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The following comment was submitted via PUCWeb: Name: Douglas Nevers Submission Time: Dec 30 2024 10:13PM Email: doug.nevers@gmail.com Telephone: 607-793-1421 Address: 3971 S North Church PI Boise, ID 83706 1 Name of Utility Company:Veolia Case ID: VEO-W-24-01 Comment: "I'm writing to submit a comment on the proposed rate change by Veolia. Case docket number: VEO-W-24-01. I opposed the proposed change for the reasons outlined below.The proposal seems more about increasing Veolia profits rather than recovering one-time investments over the last two years. My concerns with the proposed increase in rates include: (1) inadequate notice, (2) rate increases without representation into expenses, (3) pattern of leveraging investments to increase rates, (4) increased profits is inconsistent with stated objective to recover investment, and (5)the need for improved transparency of costs, rate of return, and recovering investments. Concerns 1. Inadequate notice. I received a notice of the requested Veolia rate change in the mail within a week of the deadline to implement the requested change: 12/23/2024.This insufficient notice. 2. Rate increase without representation. I wasn't not party to approving the selected investments and didn't receive a request for feedback to ensure investments were required and made in the most cost effective way, so to request post-fact that I contribute to covering the cost seems backwards. 3. Pattern of leveraging investments to increase rates. In 2022,Veolia highlighted $70 million in investments over 2yr, and request 24.1% increase in rates, and highlight that company revenue would increase by"23.4%or$12.1 million per year." [Ref 1] Given $70 million investment and increase $12 million/yr revenue, Veolia would recoup their investment in <6yr, but rate will not be adjust back after. Furthermore, a similar request was submit in 2024 after$74 million over 2 years,Veolia requests 20.5% increase, and mention "revenues would increase by 19.8%or$11.15 million per year" [Ref 2]. 4. Increased profits is inconsistent with stated objective to recover the investment. Veolia 2024 application mentions that it current rate of return is 4.78%, but the proposed increase rates increase the rate of return to 7.47%, a nearly 60% increase in profits from investment [Ref 3].The relationship between the 60% increase in Veolia's rate of return and proposed 20.5% increase in customer rate needs to be better explain and the time period use to calculate the rate of return needs to be specified. 5. Improved transparency of costs, rate of return, and recovering investments. If the goal is to recoup the investment, then the rate of return should be the same with proposed rates; instead, the rate of return from the investment is an increase in 60%compare to prior rate of return [Ref 3]. Furthermore,the investment is a one-time investment over 2years while the proposed rate increase is in perpetuity, extending beyond the recovery of the stated investment. Additional information on rates is available in Exhibits by David Njuguna and Harold Walker, III, but is well beyond what is communicate in notice to customers of rate increase request. Specifically,the analysis by Harold Walker, III focuses more on what reasonable rate of return for a Veolia should be as company rather than investments [Ref 4]. Regarding fair rate of return (Ref 4 page 7), he mentions precedent that states utilities are not entitled to a guaranteed rate of return, and the price for services must give the utility the opportunity to recover cost of associated with providing service, but this doesn't require an increase in rate of return. Furthermore, Veolia ought to be better to articulate expenses that are standard maintenance costs, new investments due to increase number of customers compared to new investments that improve quality. Additionally, more analysis to show efforts Veolia is making to reduce the cost of its service thereby enable improved profitability without requiring significant increases in revenue to achieve its desired increase in rate of return. 2 Reference 1-Veolia 2023 Rate Increase Request Announcement https://web.arch ive.org/web/20230202010746/https://mywater.veolia.us/idaho/news/veolia-files-rate- request-following-completion-of-70-million-drinking-water-investments-idaho Accessed 2024-12-30. 2-Veolia 2024 Rate Increase Announcement https://mywater.veolia.us/alert/veolia-requests-rate- review-following-74-million-in-drinking-water-investments-in-idaho. Accessed 2024-12-30 3 -Veolia 2024 Rate Increase Application htt s: If- puc.idaho.gov/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=142475&dbid=0&repo=PUC-PROD. Accessed 2024-12-30 4- Harold Walker, III Exhibits. "20241122Direct Harold Walker III_Exhibits.pdf" https://If-puc.idaho.gov/WebLink/DocView.aspx?dbid=0&id=142483.Accessed 2024-12-30" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3