20251205Petition for Reconsideration.pdf

From: rdoublef(cbaol.com
To: secretary
Subject: Final Order 36846 Comments
Date: Friday,December 5,2025 3:38:34 PM
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PUC Commission Secretary
05 Dec 2025
Submitted by Robert Ferrell
E-mail [e-mail]
[phone]
1913 S. Scharelant Ln
Coeur d' Alene, ID 83814
Name of Utility: Syringa Water Co.
Case No. SWI-W-24-02
I, Robert Ferrell, submit the following comments concerning the above referenced
Final Order 36846:
Case # SWI-W-24-02
This complaint is filed as a result of FINAL ORDER No. 36846 issued by the
Commission on 11/14/2025. The nature of this complaint is twofold: (1) that I, and
possibly many other customers, have not received a corrected billing or proper credit
for 2024 and (2) PUC has not taken appropriate action to address the issue of
inadequate fire protection that has been raised continuously by numerous customers
for the past two years. Therefore, this case should remain open for item #1 and a new
case opened if necessary for item # 2. The basis of my complaint is as follows:
ITEM 1
On 07/01/2025 STAFF COMMENTS were issued by PUC after a yearlong
investigation of numerous issues, including the rates charged, and more specifically,
how those rates were applied to the usage of each customer. On page 5 of the Staff
Comments it states
"During the audit, Staff found that the Company did not consistently apply its tiered
rates. In some cases, customers with usage in multiple tiers were charged the highest
tier rate for all consumption rather than the correct rate per tier. This error resulted in
customer overcharges. Upon notification, the Company agreed to correct the billing

for all of 2024 (emphasis added) and apply appropriate credits to customer accounts
in October 2024."
In October 2024 my invoice was for $73.44 but the line items for tier charges added
up to $131.44, a difference of $58.00, with no explanation of why nor any statement
about a credit due. It appeared to simply be an addition error which is common with
SWC. Keep in mind that the customers did not have knowledge of any corrected
billing requirement or credit due until 07/01/2025. Upon seeing the 07/01/2025 Staff
Comments I took the effort to prepare a spread sheet (my exhibit "A" dated 7/10/2025
as an attachment to my public comment dated 7/13/2025 and submitted to both PUC
and SWC on 7/14/2025) to tabulate, month by month, the actual amount billed by and
paid to SWC vs the proper calculations for a corrected billing as identified by PUC
Staff for all of 2024 (emphasis added). The result was a total credit of $395.80. I
have never received this credit. I suspect there are numerous other customers with
usage in multiple tiers have also never received a proper credit.
After receiving no reply from PUC Staff after my 07/14/2025 Public Comment, I tried
to call our point of contact at Staff on 10/23/2025 in which I was sent to voice mail, so
I left a message but have never received a return phone call from Staff. This is not
serving the public very well. Simultaneously in September and October 2025 there
were several emails back & forth between myself and Jennifer at SWC in which she
denied that I was due any credit and referred to June and July 2024 emails that she
believed settled all matters. Jennifer also challenged that the PUC Staff Comment
required a credit for all of 2024, by stating in her email dated Oct 15,2025
"The statement made wasn't a statement of affirmative that the water company would
but part of a bigger conversation of what 1PUC required us to do. In the end IPUC
stated, according to their requirements, we only needed to adjust billings as of the
date of their regulated approval, which we have already done, and explained in the
chain of emails I had forwarded to you recently."
This raises many questions. What "date of regulated approval" is Jennifer referring
to? Does that mean that SWC is no longer agreeing to credits for all of 2024
(emphasis added), and if so, why has PUC failed to publish and/or clarify this? Do the
words "the Company agreed to correct the billing for all of 2024" have no meaning?
Did PUC Staff change their position on the 2024 correction of billings without making
it a part of the public record, if so, how can that be? Is PUC Staff telling SWC one
thing and the public another? If that is the case then PUC has created an atmosphere
of distrust and hard feelings between SWC and myself/the public that should never
have come about. In FINAL ORDER No. 36846 dated 11/14/2025, paragraph IV.
Revenues, (page 3 and 4) the Commission repeated almost verbatim the language
previously quoted in the PUC STAFF COMMENTS concerning the 2024 billings and
stated in part
"the Company agreed to correct all 2024 billing errors and issue account credits in
October 2024".
This would indicate that PUC has not changed its position. If this statement is no
longer applicable then why is it in the FINAL ORDER No. 36846 dated 11/14/2025.

Either SWC or I just don't understand what is required and PUC Staff has done
nothing to straighten this mess out. I, and many other customers that I have talked to,
have never received a corrected billing or credit for all of 2024 (emphasis added) and
PUC Staff has accepted SWC at their word for having done so with no
documentation, tabulations or explanations ever provided to the public to prove up
that position. As a rebuttal to SWC saying they have issued corrective billings and
credits, I for one can say, no they have NOT if you follow the words as stated in
STAFF COMMENTS dated 07/01/2025 and FINAL ORDER No. 36846 dated
11/14/2025. As I have requested in several emails; "review my tabulation for all of
2024 (exhibit "A") and show me where you disagree or think I'm in error. PUC hasn't
done that. SWC hasn't done that. Prove me wrong and this issue goes away.
On November 2, 2025 Jennifer at SWC emailed me saying she was going to do an
end of the year review for 2024 and 2025, in which I replied I thought that was a good
idea and I requested once again that SWC review my tabulation for 2024 (exhibit "A").
Copies of these emails between SWC and myself since 7/14/2025 were furnished to
PUC Staff, yet they have never replied to help settle this dispute. Once again not
serving the public well. Once Jennifer completes her review in January 2026 hopefully
her figures will correspond with my exhibit "A" and resolve this issue to the
satisfaction of both parties. However, because that is no guarantee I am compelled to
file this petition for reconsideration within 21 days of 11/14/2025 in order to protect my
interest. I cannot speak for the other 77 customers but it seems reasonable that PUC
should have the obligation to review and confirm the accuracy of SWC corrected
billings to ensure fairness to the public as a whole. To rely on SWC's word of saying
"they took care of it" has proven in the past to not be totally effective.
ITEM 2
On page 8 of FINAL ORDER No. 36846 the Commission acknowledges in the first
paragraph they have received nine official public comments from customers raising
issues, including but not limited to inadequate fire protection (emphasis added).
This has been an issue of great concern since day one when both customers and two
HOA's reached out to PUC for help. However, the Commission findings, decisions
and orders on page 8 and 9 are totally silent and do not address the issue of
inadequate fire protection (emphasis added). The issue in item #1 for credits pales in
comparison to the seriousness of item #2 for inadequate fire protection. How can
the Commission totally ignore the inadequate fire protection problem and not order
some type of corrective action and direct Staff to monitor progress on a semi-annual
basis and publish those findings in the public record? In Case No. SWI-W-24-01 on
page 5 of FINAL ORDER No. 36290 on 8/14/2024 the Commission ordered
"that the Company shall take appropriate steps to mitigate the fire flow, transfer
pump and flow meter deficiencies discussed above and notify Staff once each issue
is resolved".
That order is the equivalent to telling the Fox to quit eating the chickens and let us

know when you do stop. The public deserves to be better informed. Customers have
heard rumors that the transfer pump situation has been rectified but nothing has ever
been published in the public record to keep the customers informed as to progress
overall, and in particular to fire flow. Communication is the key to eliminate distrust
and to alleviate the fears of the public. Logic would dictate that the fact that FINAL
ORDER No. 36846 acknowledges there is still an inadequate fire protection
problem as of 11/14/2025 requires a more proactive plan of action by Staff to monitor
and publicly report progress concerning fire protection. The excuse that nothing more
is to be done by PUC because FINAL ORDER No. 36290 is closed doesn't stand the
test of scrutiny in light of the fact that the Commission acknowledged the issue still
exists in FINAL ORDER No. 36846 dated 11/14/2025.
In the simplest of terms the PUC needs to stay on top of the inadequate fire
protection problem until completion of corrective actions and keep the public
informed. Heaven forbids there ever be a catastrophic fire in our subdivision, but if
there is, the PUC and the State of Idaho will have some serious explaining to do if
they ignore my concerns and those of the customer base as a whole.
There is a private agreement between SWC and Bennett Bay Apartments LLC for
SWC to provide 10 additional hookups for water and in turn Bennett Bay will provide
funding for the expansion of the existing water storage tank plus a new additional tank
to bring the system up to the required standards. This would resolve the concerns of
customers on the system that have existed for almost 20 years. However, because
this is a private agreement the customers/public have no way to monitor progress,
changes or any other details that effect if and when we will ever get adequate fire
protection. No one wishes to interfere with the private dealings of these two
companies but we deserve to know what progress is being made as it effects our life
and property. PUC is our only hope and avenue for information.
Please protect the public interest by following up and taking action on the two items of
concern as described above.