HomeMy WebLinkAboutwater.pdfIPUC Annual Report 2010
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Idaho Water Utilities
The commission regulates 29 privately held water systems, or only about 1 percent of the
approximate 2,100 water systems in the state. The regulated systems vary in size from
companies with about 78,000 customers to companies with as few as 22 customers. These
companies provide industrial, commercial and residential customers throughout the state with
drinking water as well as water for irrigation, recreation and manufacturing. Most of the
unregulated systems are operated by homeowner associations, water districts, co‐ops and
cities. The rates listed here represent only the residential customer class and may not reflect the
actual rates paid by a specific customer.
(bh) = business hours (ah) = after hours (nm) = non‐metered (g) = gallons (cf) = cubic feet
Utility Name Number of New Hook-up Reconnect Residential Monthly Last Rate Sur-
Customers Fee Fee Rates Revision charge
1. Algoma 25 $0.00 $ 25 $ 27 per month 7/4/2008
$44.50 (commercial)
2. Aspen Creek 25 $1,000 $15bh/$25ah $25 up to 15,000 gal 9/25/2002
After 30 days --$75 $1 each 1,000 gals over
3. Bar Circle "S" 160
$400 if line,
meter in place $ 20bh/$40 ah $27.43 up to 7,500 gal 1/1/2010
$2500 if not $1.74 each 1,000 gal over
4. Bitterroot 117 $750 $ 25 bh/ah $21 up to 15,000 gal 2/1/2006 $1.24 BF
$1.73 each 1,000 gal over $2.67 Valve
5. Brian 46 None approved $ 12.50 bh/ah $12.50 up to 4,000 gal 4/1/2008
$1.35 each 1,000 gal over
6. Capitol Water Corp. 2,875 None approved $15
Starts at $12.65/mo in winter
and $28.70/mo summer for
non-metered. Metered rates
start at $8.50/mo 5/1/2009
Annual
Power Cost
Adjustment at
0.81% of bill
7. Country Club Hills Utility 132 $500 $14 bh $17 up to 30,000 gal 6/1/2005
$28 ah $0.60 each 1,000 gal over
8. Diamond Bar Estates 51 $310 /existing $ 15 bh $ 29.00→5,500 gal 12/1/2007
$2,500 to install $ 30 ah .80 each 1,000 gal over
9. Eagle Water Company 3,400
$845 includes
$100 study
surcharge and
$500 loan
surcharge. $15 bh/ $30 ah
Monthly flat rate starting at
$11.75 (nm); $ 7.84 up to 600
cf. metered and $0.45 for each
add 100 cf 2/23/2009
10. Evergreen 36 $600 None approved $ 15 up to 7,500 gal 01/06/95
$0.35 each 1,000 gal over
11. Falls Water 3,593
Minimum $500
depending on
meter size
$20/bh and $40/ah
$16.10 (depending on meter
size) up to 03/16/10
12,000 gal and $0.611
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Each 1,000 gal over
Utility Name Number of New Hook-up Reconnect Residential Monthly Last Rate Sur-
Customers Fee Fee Rates Revision charge
12. Grouse Point 23 None approved $20bh/ $40ah $22 up to 8,000 gal 1/4/2004
$0.50 each 1,000 gal over
13. Happy Valley 24 $500 $ 20bh/ah $27.00 up to 20,000 gal 8/3/2001
$0.70 each 1,000 gal over
14. Island Park 334 $200 authorized $20bh/$20ah $280/year nm 11/05/2008
$1100 unauthzed
15. Kootenai Heights Water 11 None approved $50 $38.50 up to 10,000 gal 6/21/2007
$3.10 each 1000 gal over
16. Mayfield Springs 100 $725 $35bh/$70ah 1” meter $22 up to 10,000 gal
$0.30 each 1,000 gal over 10/10/2008
2” meter $50 up to 20,000 gal
$0.30 each 1,000 gal over
17. Morning View 96 None approved $ 25 bh/-ah ¼ acre-$ 27.41/mo. 9/01/2007 $5 for
½ acre-$ 35.94/mo. Reserve
1 acre-$ 44.48/mo Account
18. Murray Water Works 33 $800 $25 March-Oct $ 26/mo 7/15/2003 Rate case
$50 Oct-Feb pending
19. Pack Saddle Estates 35 $430
$ 25 if 45 days or less;
$130 for more than 45
days $34.24/mo 6/3/1996
20. Picabo 28 $500 $ 15 involuntary $41/mo summer 7/1/2004
Irrigation
(April-Sept)
$ 25 voluntary $22/mo winter $19/mo
21. Ponderosa 29 $2,500 $ 35 bh/ah Resident: $ 48/mo 7/1/2003
Seasonal: $ 25/mo
22. Resort 389 None approved $ 20 bh/$60ah $ 44.80/mo per 1 ERU 3/15/2005
4X that after 30 days
23. Rickel 27 $6,000 $25 bh/ah $ 30 up to 15,000 gal 5/011997
$1.10 each 1,000 gal over
24.Rocky Mountain
Utility Company
25. Spirit Lake
38
305
$150
$2,500
$20 bh
Or $40 ah
$ 16 bh/$32 ah
$39/50/mo
$12.50 up to 9,000 gal
01/01/09
10/30/09
$0.10 each 100 gal over
25. Stoneridge 193 $1,200 $18.50bh/$33.50ah $24/mo based on size 7/02/2007 Happy
30-days plus varies $0.79/1,000 gal Valley res
Per size of service Pay $16.83/mo
Does not
26. Sunbeam 22 None approved None approved $12 up to 12,000 gal 5/31/1983 file annual
$1.20 each 1,000 gal over report
27. Teton Springs 272 $600 for $20 if disconnected $118/per quarter 2/2/2009
1” res/larger 30 days or less/
Based on size $40 after hours
28. Troy Hoffman 144 $458/1” $10/bh $5.50/first 3,000 gal/ 8/01/1996
$0.60 each 1,000 gal
29. United Water Idaho 78,892 See Tariff $20/ bh Starting at $17.81 bi-monthly 7/28/2006
$30/ ah Winter -- $1.21 per 100 cf
Summer - $1.3311 per 100 cf
Up to 300 cf and $1.664
For each 100 cf over
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Case No. BCSW0902, Order No. 30970
January 7, 2010
New rates approved for Bar Circle ‘S’ customers
Rates for customers of the Bar Circle “S” Ranch Water Company are increasing from $15 per
month to $27.43 for the first 7,500 gallons of use. The increase was effective Jan. 1.
For use beyond 7,500 gallons, the rate will be $1.74 for each 1,000 gallons. The former rate was
95 cents for each thousand gallons consumed beyond 7,500 gallons.
Bar Circle “S” serves about 160 residential and commercial customers about 15 miles northwest
of Coeur d’Alene. It sought an increase to $32.92 per month and $2.08 for every 1,000 gallons
used above 7,500 gallons. The company sought an annual revenue requirement of $80,335. The
commission approved an annual revenue requirement of $55,734.
This is the first general rate increase for Bar Circle “S” since 1990. Since then the company has
made several major improvements and expansions. Those include installation of a standby
generator for the booster and fire pumps, several replacements of the 60‐horsepower pumping
unit in Well No. 2, improvements to the mainline in 2002, improvements to the Garwood
reservoir in 2001 and well‐site improvements. The company recently installed a 6‐inch recording
flow meter on the discharge side of the company’s booster pumps as required by the Idaho
Department of Environmental Quality.
Commission staff conducted workshops and the commission conducted a public hearing in the
case. Customers also submitted written comments.
Many comments contended that a rate increase the size requested by the company in these
economic times is unreasonable. Some customers said the company should not have waited 18
years before requesting a rate increase. The fact the company waited many years to request an
increase “does not change the evidence presented in this case,” the commission said.
State statutes require that regulated utilities be allowed to recover the prudently incurred
expenses necessary to serve customers and earn a reasonable rate of return. When the
commission denies recovery of expense to a utility it must be able to justify its reasons for
disallowance based on the evidence presented in the case. All commission decisions can be
appealed to the state Supreme Court.
Some customers expressed concern they might be subsidizing the addition of the Double T
Estates development into the Bar Circle “S” system. “We assure customers that any costs that
the company may have accrued that benefited Double T were removed from the calculation of
the (Bar Circle “S”) revenue requirement,” the commission said. In compliance with an earlier
commission order, the developer of Double T agreed to pay Bar Circle “S” for the cost of the
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construction of the water main extension and related system improvements to provide service
to Double T.
Case No. UWIW0901, Order No. 31016
March 5, 2010
Commission adopts rate settlement with United Water
United Water Idaho customers will pay 9.9 percent more for water effective immediately with
the adoption of a settlement in the utility’s six‐month rate case.
The utility originally filed for a 15.2 percent increase and, during the course of the case, upped
that request to 16.6 percent. The settlement, negotiated by the company, commission staff and
an organization representing low‐income customers, allows for a 9.9 percent increase this year
and 1.7 percent on Feb. 1, 2011. The settlement includes an agreement that rates won’t
increase again until January 2012 at the earliest.
The agreement grants the request of many customers to allow United Water to switch to
monthly billing from bi‐monthly billing and provides the opportunity for customers of 12 months
or longer to participate in a level‐pay plan.
For an average residential customer, the increase will be about $2.83 per month, according to
the company. Part of the 9.9 percent increase is an 80‐cent per month increase in the customer
service charge.
United Water rates last increased in August 2006. Since then, the company invested more than
$13 million in capital improvements. “The company’s application and evidence proves, and
(commission) staff’s comprehensive audit confirms, that the company’s revenue request was
driven primarily by necessary replacement of aging infrastructure and increased power costs,”
the commission said.
The commission said it is well aware of current economic conditions and the hardship that any
increase places on customers. “A request for a rate increase filed by a utility in strained
economic times, when many customers may be struggling to pay existing bills, presents a
challenging responsibility for the commission,” the order states. By law, the company is entitled
to recover its reasonable expenses and receive a reasonable return on investments. To further
mitigate the size of the increase, the commission allowed United Water to defer some expenses,
including power costs, rate case expense and storage tank painting costs over a number of
years.
Commission staff said it was convinced that the agreed‐upon increase to come out of the
settlement was a better outcome for customers than had the case not been settled. The
Community Action Partnership Association of Idaho (CAPAI), representing low‐income
customers, said the settlement was reasonable. “Though we are in the midst of extremely
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difficult economic times, the settlement reached was likely the best that could be achieved from
all customers’ points of view.”
The commission agreed to CAPAI’s request that United Water, CAPAI and commission staff
convene workshops to review possible changes to United Water’s program for low‐income
customers and discuss efforts to improve participation in the company’s water conservation
program.
Case No. FLSW0901, Order No. 31022
March 11, 2010
Increase for Falls Water customers is 6 percent
Rates for customers of Falls Water Company near Idaho Falls will increase by about 6 percent
effective April 1. With the increase, an average residential bill will be about $24.16 per month.
The commission approved the increase after a six‐month investigation. Falls Water, which
serves about 3,600 customers north of Ammon and northeast of Idaho Falls, originally sought an
average 14.4 percent increase.
Falls Water sought to increase its annual revenue requirement by about $143,500. The
commission approved $92,728, for a total annual revenue requirement of $1,094,570.
To meet that revenue requirement, the company proposed to increase the minimum charge for
metered customers from $14 to $18 per month, but decrease its commodity charge from 66.7
cents per 1,000 gallons used above 12,000 gallons to 60 cents. The commission approved an
increase in the minimum charge to $16.10 per month for the vast majority of customers with ¾‐
inch or 5/8‐inch meters and a commodity charge of 61 cents for every 1,000 gallons above
12,000 gallons.
The minimum charge increases gradually for customers with larger meters. Falls Water
proposed to charge the same rate for all meter sizes, but the commission said that customers
who impose a higher demand on the system should pay more. Only 4 percent of customers have
larger meters.
The company’s last rate increase was in January, 2008. Since then, Falls Water has installed a
new well, meters and transmitters and replaced a hydrant. It also moved into larger office and
warehouse space.
“We recognize that for some customers, an increase will result in an economic hardship,” the
commission said. “Recognizing the current economic climate of this region and the country, we
also note that the commission has an obligation to Falls Water and its customers to set rates at
a level sufficient to allow the company to recover its reasonable expenses and receive a
reasonable return on its investments. This is necessary so the company can remain financially
sound and capable of providing adequate, clean water to its customers.”
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While the commission accepted the company’s rationale regarding its need for a larger office
and warehouse, it cautioned Falls Water about its affiliate relationship with the owners of the
office space, Rockwell Development, Inc. Commission staff investigated rental rates for office
and warehouse space in the Idaho Falls area and found the lease agreement with Rockwell to be
reasonable, but did not include proposed “escalators” that would have annually increased rental
expenses in customer rates.
The commission also declined to include in rates the entire $160,000 in land acquisition costs for
the combined siting of the new well and a future water storage reservoir. The commission
accepted $80,000, which was the land acquisition cost for the new well, but said the remainder
could not be included until the storage reservoir is in use and beneficial to customers. The
company purchased the land from Rockwell Development.
“The commission is genuinely concerned by the number of affiliate transactions that Falls Water
engages in without apparent regard to providing evidence of arm’s length bargaining,” the
commission said.
The commission also noted the company is not in full compliance with the commission’s
customer relations rules. It directed Falls Water to update within 60 days its main line extension
rules, monthly billing statements, initial and final notices of termination and annual rules
summary.
Case No. MURW1001
December 20, 2010
Commission declines to reconsider Murray Water decision
The commission denied a petition to reconsider its decision in a Murray, Idaho, water company
rate case.
Nearly all of the 36 customers of Murray Water Works Systems asked that the commission
postpone and/or reverse its Nov. 2 order increasing rates until Murray Water complies with “all
federal, state and county laws, regulations, orders and licenses pertaining to public utilities.”
The commission denied the petition, stating that its previous order addresses customer
concerns. “We find it prudent to allow Murray a reasonable opportunity to comply with our
directives,” the commission said. “In the interim, commission staff will continually monitor
Murray’s quality of service and verify whether Murray complies with the commission’s
mandates. As always, customers are permitted to participate in the verification process and
submit specific concerns and complaints …” the commission stated.
Customers want Murray Water owner Arlen Lish to comply with Idaho Department of
Environmental Quality regulations, particularly one that states water companies must hire a
certified waster system operator. The commission’s November order directed Murray Water to
hire a system operator at a cost of $400 per month. “If Mr. Lish is unwilling or otherwise unable
to become a certified system operator, then the commission orders the company to seek out
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and employ another individual to comply with IDEQ’s certification requirement …” the
commission stated.
Customer complaints regarding Murray Water’s substandard business and recordkeeping
practices “are well‐founded” and were addressed in the November order, the commission said.
In that order, the commission directed Murray Water to issue billing statements and
termination notifications that comply with commission rules. Full‐time customers must be billed
on a monthly basis while part‐time customers can be billed annually, the commission said. The
company had not been sending notice to customers until the accounts are more than 60 days
past due.
In its November order, the commission approved an increase in the monthly fee for full‐time
customers from $26 to $51.50. Rates for part‐time customers (eight months or less) increase
from $26 to $34.50, while monthly rates for business customers increase from $26 to $70.
The commission denied requests from Murray Water that individual meters be installed to
detect leaks and that it be allowed to install a back‐up power system and fire hydrants. The
commissions said all those items would add significant expense requiring an even greater
increase.
This was the company’s first rate case since 2003.