20200703Comment.pdf

From:PUC Consumer Comments
To:Diane Hanian
Subject:Notice: A comment was submitted to PUCWeb
Date:Friday, July 3, 2020 3:00:05 PM
The following comments were submitted via PUCWeb:
Name: Clay Chastain
Email: [e-mail]: 210-279-0660
Address: 2145 N Roy DrIdaho Falls, ID 83401
Name of Utility Company: Falls Water
Case ID: FLS-W-20-03
Comment: "Upon examining previous financial records, Falls Water operated at a profit with
increased net income for the last several years. Their income to debt has been, and is, higherthan it needs to sustain all operations. Explanation is not provided in the application or the
notice to customers. Net Income 2015 175,963 Net Income 2016 252,375 Net Income 2017280, 811 Net Income 2018 325,086 The financial data shows that Falls Water is having
INCREASING net income without raising rates over an 8 year period. Their debt paymentsare manageable without an increase. There appears to be very little justification, even with the
provided system improvements, to implement a 17.7 percent increase. The owner of thecompany has recently changed to a company that is located in Oregon and not Idaho and no
notification was made to the general public. Falls Water is now owned by Northwest Natural,a natural gas provider. The data does not provide sufficient evidence that this change in r"
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Name: Clay Chastain
Email: [e-mail]: 210-279-0660
Address: 2145 N Roy DrIdaho Falls, ID 83401
Name of Utility Company: Falls Water
Case ID: FLS-W-20-03
Comment: "The proposed increase of 19.12 in the span of one year represents a overwhelming
increase in the price of water. The proposal letter does not specify how the increase will bespent (rather, the application does not quantify every value), what the current costs are of
complete business operation, and what the balance sheet of Falls Water represents currently.As well, none of this is directly tied to the actual workers of Falls Water apart from generic
operations. The application notes the COVID-19 crisis, yet does not address its workers or thecustomers. It only says that it is not sufficient without explaining the situation as it relates to
Idaho Falls. Explanations of how COVID-19 has impacted the company need to be provided,if COVID-19 is used as substantial argument for or against a rate change. More details need to
be mailed to customers with a better financial breakdown. A utility, increasing by greater than15 percent in one year, does not get the same treatment as other indu"
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