20160708Response to Commission 1-6.docx

BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
IN THE MATTER OF DIAMOND BAR)
ESTATES WATER COMPANY’S) CASE NO. DIA-W-15-O1
APPLICATION FOR AUTHORITY TO)
INCREASE ITS RATES AND CHARGES FOR)
WATER SERVICE IN THE STATE OF) ORDER NO. 33547
IDAHO)
Diamond Bar Estates Water Company (the Company) has the following response to
The Commission and other comments received in this case.
1.The Company nor its Contractor, United Crown Pump and Drilling (UCPD) was not contacted by Kootenai Electric regarding changing from a full voltage non-reversing starter (FVNR) to a soft start. It was brought to the Company’s and the Contractor’s (UCPD) attention through the AEI Engineer Observation Report dated September 23rd, 2015. The report stated changing this component as a “Recommended action”not as a requirement.The original FVNR was approved and operational and the transformers were sized by KEC for theintended load(s). KEC’s on-site testing confirmed that the original transformers were able to handle the load of the pumps and motors that were operating at that time.
While a soft starter would have changed the power demand, it would not have affected the damage that occurred.
2.The failures occurred while the motor was running, so it the Company’s and the Contractor’s belief a Soft Starter would not have prevented motor failure.
3. The Company nor the Contractor informed KEC of the increase in motor size from 50hp to 60hp, however, their own monitoring report reflects the original transformers were handling the load. See attached Exhibit 1
4.Yes, our Contractor (UCPD) is a fully licensed and bonded electrical contractor in ID and WA who specializes in pump systems and controls.
5.The Company experienced multiple motor failures which each failure was dealt with on a case by case basis and multiple agencies were consulted with each failure. The agencies Franklin Pump Motor, our Contractor (UCPD), and KEC were consulted, however, the Electric Coop in most cases failed to offer much in resolving the issue until the Company hired a Professional Engineering Firm who stated in their Observation Report, The current utility transformers are under sized. The Company understands AEI did not pin point the failure reason exactly, however, following the installation of larger pad transformers it currently appears to the Company this was the biggest resolve to the failures.
6.The Company experienced one contamination issue in August of 2012 when Coliform was present. The Company retested as instructed by IDEQ. August 10th 2012 our final test returned absent. See Exhibits 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Diamond Bar Customers were notified by phone that the Company had a Coliform test failure 8/6/12 and retesting was done through August 10th 2012 on into Sept 2012. The results was Coliform Absent and has remained absent to the current day.
Witnessed by Robert N Turnipseed07 July 2016