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Regulatory Rate Filings | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2020
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REGULATORY RATE FILINGS | Regulatory Rate Filings California Regulatory Affairs On July 20, 2018, the California Public Utilities Commission (“CPUC”) issued an Order Instituting Investigation (“OII”) No. 18-07-007 concerning SJW Group’s then proposed merger with CTWS. A Scoping Memorandum was issued on September 7, 2018, which identified the issues to be considered in the proceeding as to whether the proposed merger is subject to CPUC approval and to evaluate the merger’s likely impacts within California. On September 14, 2018, SJW Group and SJWC submitted joint comments in response to the issues identified in accordance with the Scoping Memorandum’s adopted schedule, and reply comments were submitted on October 19, 2018. A Public Participation Hearing was held on January 31, 2019. On March 4, 2019, the CPUC suspended this proceeding due to SJW Group’s announcement of its intention to file a new merger approval application with the PURA. On April 3, 2019, SJW Group and CTWS jointly filed a new merger application with PURA. After securing the required approvals from both PURA and the Maine Public Utilities Commission (“MPUC”), SJW Group announced the close of the merger on October 9, 2019, and notified the CPUC accordingly. On August 31, 2020, the CPUC issued Decision 20-08-036 dismissing the OII and closing the proceeding. The OII is officially concluded as no application for rehearing was filed within 30 days of decision issuance. On September 14, 2018, the CPUC issued OII No. 18-09-003 to which SJWC was named as Respondent. The OII was to determine whether the company unlawfully overcharged customers over a 30-year period by failing to pro-rate service charges when increases occurred during a billing period, and whether the company double-billed service charges during one billing period when allegedly switching from billing such charges in advance to billing in arrears. The OII resulted from a report by the CPUC’s Consumer Protection and Enforcement Division (“CPED”), dated August 16, 2018, recommending an investigation into SJWC’s billing practice. CPED calculated a refund obligation of approximately $2,061 for the years 2014 to 2016 that had been the subject of SJWC’s Advice Letter No. 510. CPED calculated a further refund obligation of approximately $1,990 for the years 1987 to 2013. CPED also asserted that the company double-billed its customers during a billing period when it allegedly converted from billing in advance to billing in arrears, assumed that such double-billing occurred in January 2011, and calculated a refund obligation of approximately $4,935. The OII notes these estimates and identifies the proper refund amount as an issue in the proceeding. The OII also identifies the CPUC’s authority to consider imposing penalties on SJWC in amounts ranging from $0.5 to $50 per offense, per day. On July 24, 2019, SJWC and CPED jointly filed a motion for CPUC approval of a Settlement Agreement (“Agreement”) over SJWC’s past customer billing practices. The Agreement requires the company to pay approximately $2,100 in customer credits, consisting of $1,757 for refunds during the period from 1987 to 2011 and an additional $350 in customer credits to low-income water customers, and invest $5,000 in utility plant that is not allowed an investment return or rate recovery. The Agreement was subject to final approval by the CPUC. A CPUC Presiding Officer’s Decision approved the Agreement in December 2019, but an appeal was filed in January 2020 by a group of SJWC customers. A final CPUC decision approving the Agreement and dismissing the appeal was approved on February 27, 2020, and concluded this proceeding. Advice Letter No. 545 was filed on March 13, 2020, requesting authorization to provide refunds to customers. For a typical residential customer with a 3/4-inch meter, the one-time refund was $5.52 dollars. This advice letter was approved effective April 12, 2020, and SJWC completed issuing refunds in mid-June 2020. On June 19, 2019, the CPUC issued its final decision resolving the remaining issues in SJWC’s general rate case for 2019. Decision 19-06-010 denied the establishment of a WRAM/SRM and authorized the recovery of the Hydro Generation Research, Development and Demonstration Memorandum Account balance as of September 30, 2016. SJWC filed Advice Letter No. 534 on August 1, 2019, to recover the $1,243 Hydro Generation Memorandum Account balance as of September 30, 2017, via a surcharge over a three-year period. The CPUC rejected the advice letter on October 10, 2019, citing an error in the name of the memorandum account and recommended a correction and a new filing for recovery. SJWC filed to correct the record and received the CPUC’s decision on April 10, 2020. Advice Letter 548 was filed on April 24, 2020, requesting recovery of $1,224 via a 36-month surcharge. The adjustment in the memorandum account balance reflected project costs incurred after September 30, 2016, which are not allowable per Decision 19-06-010. Per Resolution W-5228 approved on August 27, 2020 by the CPUC, further adjustments were made to the memorandum account balance resulting in an approved recovery of $1,219 which was recognized in the company’s regulatory assets as of September 30, 2020. The recovery was approved in Advice Letter 548A effective August 31, 2020. SJWC filed Advice Letter No. 537 with the CPUC requesting authorization to refund the balance in its 2018 Tax Accounting Memorandum Account as required by the general rate case decision on October 18, 2019. On December 3, 2019, Advice Letter 537-A was filed to refund the balance via a one-time surcredit. For a typical residential customer with a 3/4-inch meter, the one-time refund will be $20.84 dollars per customer. This advice letter was approved effective January 21, 2020, and refunds to customers began and completed in January 2020. SJWC filed Advice Letter No. 541 on November 20, 2019, with the CPUC requesting authorization to increase its revenue requirement by $8,600 or 2.28% in 2020 for the first escalation year authorized in our 2018 General Rate Case Decision 18-011-025 which established rates for 2019, 2020, and 2021. This advice letter was approved on December 26, 2019, and new rates became effective January 1, 2020. On December 6, 2019, SJWC filed Application No. 19-12-002 with the CPUC requesting approval for cost recovery to deploy Advanced Metering Infrastructure throughout its service area. The application seeks revenue increases of $2,315 or 0.61% in 2021, $3,960 or 1.04% in 2022, $2,510 or 0.65% in 2023, and $341 or 0.09% in 2024 based on current rates in effect. A decision from the CPUC is anticipated in the fourth quarter of 2020. On January 22, 2020, SJWC, along with three other California water utilities, filed a joint request for a one-year deferment on the Cost of Capital filings which would otherwise be due on May 1, 2020. Postponing the filing one year would alleviate administrative processing costs on the utilities as well as the CPUC staff, and provide relief for both CPUC and utility resources already strained by numerous other proceedings. The request was conditioned on no changes to the current Water Cost of Capital Mechanism in place during the one-year deferment. On March 11, 2020, the CPUC approved the request. On March 16, 2020, the CPUC ordered its regulated water utilities to halt customer disconnection activities in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic. On April 16, 2020, the CPUC issued Executive Order N-42-20 suspending customer disconnection activities. The CPUC’s and Governor’s orders will remain in effect until further notice. On April 16, 2020, the CPUC issued Resolution M-4842 directing utilities to implement emergency customer protections to assist customers such as waiving reconnection deposits, offering payment arrangements, and suspending disconnections for nonpayment, to assist customers. This resolution is effective for up to one year, or April 16, 2021, with the option to extend. On March 19, 2020, SJWC filed Advice Letter 546 to extend customer protections listed in the company’s Disaster Relief Customer Protections and Outreach Plan as required by the CPUC in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The filing also activated SJWC’s Catastrophic Event Memorandum Account (“CEMA”) to track costs related to SJWC’s response which includes labor and materials, anticipated increase in bad debt from the suspension of shutoffs for non-payment, waived deposits and reconnection fees, and divergence from actual versus authorized usage. The customer protections and CEMA were approved effective March 4, 2020. SJWC anticipates requesting recovery of the COVID-19 pandemic response costs in a future general rate case or other filings. SJWC filed Advice Letter No. 552 with the CPUC requesting authorization to establish a Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Memorandum Account (“PFAS MA”) on August 18, 2020. The advice letter was approved retroactive to March 1, 2019. SJWC will track in this account incremental expenses related to PFAS monitoring, sampling, and customer outreach activities for potential future recovery. Connecticut Regulatory Affairs As of September 30, 2020, Water Infrastructure Conservation Adjustment (“WICA”) surcharges for Connecticut Water and Avon Water were 5.75% and 9.31%, respectively. HVWC did not have an approved WICA surcharge. On January 28, 2020, Connecticut Water filed a WICA application representing an additional 2.6% surcharge, for a cumulative WICA surcharge of 5.84%. Additionally, on February 7, 2020, Connecticut Water filed its annual WICA reconciliation which called for a 0.09% reduction of the WICA surcharge. On March 25, 2020, PURA approved a net cumulative 5.75% surcharge for Connecticut Water which became effective on customers’ bills on April 1, 2020. On October 28, 2020, Connecticut Water filed a WICA application representing an additional 1.11% surcharge or approximately $956 increase in revenues, for a cumulative WICA surcharge of 6.85% which is scheduled to become effective January 1, 2021. On March 3, 2020, Connecticut Water filed an application, Docket No. 20-03-04, with PURA to merge Avon Water and HVWC with and into Connecticut Water. The application was made to streamline borrowings, regulatory filings and internal administrative tasks associated with maintaining separate corporate entities and was approved by PURA on September 16, 2020. The merger became effective on September 30, 2020. After the approval and prior to the completion of the merger, the outstanding debt balances held at Avon Water and HVWC were repaid in full. On March 12, 2020, PURA issued Docket No. 20-03-15 to establish a State of Emergency Utility Shut-off Moratorium for the COVID-19 pandemic. The moratorium ordered regulated utility companies to refrain from terminating utility service to residential customers, except for safety reasons until August 1, 2020, or until such other time as determined by the PURA. The moratorium was extended through October 1, 2020 at which time the company may resume standard collection practices until or unless there is further action by PURA. In the same docket, PURA further directed the public service companies to maintain a detailed record of costs incurred and revenues lost as a result of implementing its orders in the docket and may establish a regulatory asset to track incurred costs. Approval for recovery of additional costs incurred and/or revenues lost relating to the COVID-19 pandemic would be considered for recovery in the Connecticut Water’s next general rate case proceeding. Legislation was recently passed in Connecticut that made changes to the PURA statutes for utility regulation. The most notable changes that affect water companies were adjustments to extend the timelines for adjudication of various regulatory proceedings. In particular, the following proceeding timelines were increased: general rate case from 150 days with 30 day extension (180 days maximum) to 200 days, change in control from 120 days with 30 day extension (150 days maximum) to 200 days with an opportunity for a 30 day extension (230 days maximum), and financing from 30 days to 60 days. In addition, there is a new requirement that any future change in control or merger approvals would require the composition of the board of directors of the holding company to include a proportional percentage of Connecticut-based directors. The law also authorizes, but does not require, the PURA to consider adoption of a framework for performance-based regulation of private water companies. Texas Regulatory Affairs As required, CLWSC submitted on January 27, 2020, its Water Pass-Through Charge (“WPC”) true-up report for the Canyon Lake area systems 2019 purchased water costs. The WPC is the annual filing to change the component of CLWSC’s water rates for changes in purchased water costs since the last annual true-up report. The changes in the purchased water costs for the Deer Creek Ranch water system resulted in a decrease in the usage charge from $2.19 dollars to $2.02 dollars per thousand gallons, and an increase in the monthly base charge of $3.04 dollars per residential account. The Deer Creek Ranch rate changes became effective October 1, 2019. The 2019 WPC true-up report for the water systems located in the Canyon Lake area resulted in a reduction of the WPC usage rate from $1.05 dollars to $0.95 dollars per thousand gallons which became effective on February 1, 2020. The WPC filings for Deer Creek Ranch and the Canyon Lake area were approved by the Public Utilities Commission of Texas (“PUCT”) and a new tariff with the WPC rates was issued in May 2020. In connection with the disaster declaration in Texas, the PUCT issued Order No. 50664-106 to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on residential water utility customers. CLWSC responded to these orders by stopping disconnections for nonpayment of utility bills, and not charging fees for late payment. The PUCT allowed this order to expire on June 13, 2020. The PUCT also issued Accounting Orders under No. 50664-108, which instructs utilities to record the incremental costs and lost revenues from the COVID-19 pandemic in a regulatory tracking account for recovery in future rates. These amounts will be considered by the PUCT for recovery in each utility’s next rate application. Maine Regulatory Affairs On December 20, 2019, Maine Water filed for a general rate increase for their Skowhegan Division seeking approximately $221, or 14.7%, in additional revenue with the MPUC. On June 17, 2020, the MPUC approved a general rate increase for Skowhegan Division customers allowing $198 in additional revenue. Per the MPUC decision, the increase will be implemented in two steps: an initial 9.80% rate increase effective June 15, 2020, and a 3.51% rate increase effective July 1, 2021. The combined rate increase is 13.31%. On January 20, 2020, Maine Water filed Water Infrastructure Surcharge (“WISC”) applications with the MPUC in four divisions requesting an increase between 1.76% and 3.00%, representing approximately $371 in additional revenues. The WISC applications were approved on February 26, 2020, and the surcharges became effective March 1, 2020. On March 16, 2020, MPUC issued an emergency moratorium on utility disconnection activities in connection to the COVID-19 pandemic. The moratorium directed public utility companies not to engage in any disconnection activities including disconnection notices for all classes of customers until further notice from MPUC. Maine Water is tracking COVID-19 related costs for potential future recovery in rates charged to customers. On September 17, 2020, the MPUC issued an order lifting the moratorium on utility disconnections in Maine effective November 1, 2020. The Order requires specific notifications by utilities to their customers prior to resuming disconnection activities and requires a waiver of late payment fess for customers who enter into payment arrangements on or before December 31, 2020. MWC is processing customer notices as required with the intention of resuming utility disconnections in November, 2020. On October 9, 2020, Maine Water filed a request for approval of a special rate contract between Maine Water and the Kennebec Water District (“KWD”). Maine Water has purchased water from KWD under a special rate contract approved by the MPUC since November 2000. The filing seeks to continue the existing relationship between the two water utilities and requests extension of the expiring 20 year agreement for an additional 20 years.

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