20170712press release.pdf

Case No: GPW-W-17-01
Contact: Matt Evans
[phone] or 520-4763
www.puc.idaho.gov

Workshop set regarding proposed rate
increase for Kuna-based water company
BOISE (July 12, 2017) - Staff from the Idaho Public Utilities Commission have scheduled a
workshop for customers of Grouse Point Water Company regarding the utility’s proposed rate
increase.
The workshop is set for July 20 from 7 pm to 9 pm at Kuna City Hall.
It is intended to provide customers with information about the process leading up to the
Commission’s decision on the company’s proposal, which calls for significant increases to the
monthly service charge and charges based on the amount of water used.
Grouse Point Water serves 24 residences in the Kuna area. It has proposed increasing its monthly
service charge from $22 to $113.86, an increase of 418 percent.
The proposed change to charges based on usage would create two tiers.
If the Commission approves the company’s request in full, customers using 8,000 gallons of water
or less per month would be charged $1.83 per 1,000 gallons. There is currently no charge for usage
up to 8,000 gallons per month.
Customers who use more than 8,000 gallons per month would be charged $5 for each 1,000 gallons
used, up from 50 cents – a 900-percent increase.
In its application requesting Commission approval for the rate increase, the company said revenue
has fallen short of basic operational expenses every year since 2003, when it began charging
customers based on usage.
From 2012 to 2015, the company said, it collected approximately 40 percent of the revenue
required to offset basic operational and maintenance expenses, creating a deficit in excess of
$10,000.
Current rates also do not reflect capital improvements totaling $8,423 in 2013 and $119,018 in
2009, according to the company’s filing. Those improvements include installation of a new pump
and construction of a new well and associated equipment needed to comply with federal drinking
water standards regarding uranium.
Grouse Point said rates must be increased in order to continue operating.
It requested that the increase take effect April 15, 2017, but the Commission suspended the
effective date until Oct. 15, 2017.
The company said the changes would generate $36,997 annually. That is up from current annual
revenue of $6,842 and would allow Grouse Point to recover expenses related to routine operation
and maintenance, as well as the capital improvements made in 2009 and 2013.
At the July 20 workshop, commission staff will summarize Grouse Point’s application and explain
how the Commission generally evaluates and decides a case.
Commission staff will not take a position on the merits of the case at the workshop, and staff’s
findings at the event will not be part of the official record in the case, but information gleaned from
the workshop may contribute to the comments that staff will file along with other parties to the
case.
Customers who would like to provide input for the record should file comments. The deadline to
submit comments is Aug. 17.
Kuna City Hall is located at 751 W. 4th St.
To read Grouse Point’s application and supporting documentation, go the www.puc.idaho.gov.
Under the “Water” heading, select “Open Cases” and scroll down to Case No. GPW-W-17-01. To
submit written comments, go to the website and click on “Case Comment Form,” under the “Water”
heading and enter the above case number. Comments can also be mailed to the Idaho Public
Utilities Commission, P.O. Box 83720, Boise, ID, 83720-0074.