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Commitments
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2014
Commitments Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments
Commitments
San Jose Water Company purchases water from SCVWD under terms of a master contract expiring in 2051. Delivery schedules for purchased water are based on a contract year beginning July 1, and are negotiated every three years under terms of the master contract with SCVWD. For the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012, San Jose Water Company purchased from SCVWD 17,782 million gallons ($44,444), 22,700 million gallons ($52,500) and 22,800 million gallons ($48,800), respectively, of contract water. In accordance with the reduction of treated water deliveries approved by the SCVWD Board of Directors on November 25, 2014, the delivery schedule was reduced by 20% through June 30, 2015. Based on current prices and estimated deliveries, San Jose Water Company is committed to purchase from SCVWD a minimum of 90% of the reduced delivery schedule, or 17,863 million gallons ($46,434) of water at the current contract water rate of $2.6 per million gallons in the year ending December 31, 2015. Additionally, San Jose Water Company purchases non-contract water from SCVWD on an “as needed” basis if the water supply is available.
In 1997, San Jose Water Company entered into a 25-year contract agreement with the City of Cupertino to operate the City's municipal water system. San Jose Water Company paid a one-time, up-front concession fee of $6,800 to the City of Cupertino which is amortized over the contract term. Under the terms of the contract agreement, San Jose Water Company assumed responsibility for all maintenance and operating costs, and necessary capital improvements, while receiving all payments for water service. Water service rates are subject to approval by the Cupertino City Council.
San Jose Water Company has remaining commitments of $400 with one vendor related to Phase 1 upgrades to the Montevina Water Treatment Plant. This amount is expected to be spent during the first half of 2015. In addition, the Company expects to sign a contract during the second quarter of 2015 with one vendor for Phase 2 upgrades in the amount of $47,500, of which $17,100 is expected to be spent during the second half of 2015.
CLWSC has long-term contracts with the GBRA. The terms of the agreements expire in 2037, 2040, 2044 and 2050. The agreements, which are take-or-pay contracts, provide CLWSC with 6,900 acre-feet per year of water supply from Canyon Lake and other sources. The water rate may be adjusted by GBRA at any time, provided they give CLWSC a 60-day written notice on the proposed adjustment.
TWA has entered into approximately 180 water leases with property owners for certain real property rights for the development, production, transportation and use of groundwater in and under their property. In accordance with the water leases, TWA is committed to pay between $1,000 and $1,300 from 2015 to 2019. TWA may terminate the water leases at any time during the pre-production phase, upon two years prior written notice.
As of December 31, 2014, San Jose Water Company had 354 employees, of whom 122 were executive, administrative or supervisory personnel, and of whom 232 were members of unions. In November 2013, San Jose Water Company reached a three-year collective bargaining agreement with the Utility Workers of America, representing the majority of all employees, and the International Union of Operating Engineers, representing certain employees in the engineering department, covering the period from January 1, 2014 through December 31, 2016. The agreements include a 2% wage increase in 2014, 2% in 2015 and 3% in 2016 for union workers as well as increases in medical co-pays and employee cost-sharing.