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Contingencies | 6 Months Ended
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Jun. 30, 2014
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block] | 8. Contingencies Renewal of Retail License The Company sells water through its retail operations under a license issued in July 1990 by the Cayman Islands government that grants the Company’s wholly owned subsidiary Cayman Water the exclusive right to provide potable water to customers within its licensed service area. Cayman Water’s service area is comprised of an area on Grand Cayman that includes the Seven Mile Beach and West Bay areas, two of the three most populated areas in the Cayman Islands. For the three months ended June 30, 2014 and 2013, the Company generated approximately 38% and 37%, respectively, of its consolidated revenues and 54% and 52%, respectively, of its consolidated gross profits from the retail water operations conducted pursuant to its exclusive license. For the six months ended June 30, 2014 and 2013, the Company generated approximately 38% of its consolidated revenues and approximately 55% of its consolidated gross profits from these retail water operations. If Cayman Water is not in default of any of its terms, this license provides Cayman Water with the right of first refusal to renew the license on terms that are no less favorable than those that the government offers to any third party. The 1990 License was scheduled to expire in July 2010 but has been extended several times by the Cayman Islands government in order to provide the parties with additional time to negotiate the terms of a new license agreement. On July 15, 2014, the 1990 License was extended through December 31, 2014. In February 2011, the Water (Production and Supply) Law, 2011 (which replaces the Water (Production and Supply) Law (1996 Revision)) and the Water Authority (Amendment) Law, 2011 (the “New Laws”) were published and are now in full force and effect. Under the New Laws, the Water Authority-Cayman (“WAC”) would issue any new license which could include a rate of return on invested capital model described below. The Company has been advised in correspondence from the Cayman Islands government and the WAC that: (i) the WAC is now the principal negotiator, and not the Cayman Islands government, in these license negotiations, and (ii) the WAC has determined that a rate of return on invested capital model (“RCAM”) is in the best interest of the public and the Company’s customers. RCAM is the rate model currently utilized in the electricity transmission and distribution license granted by the Cayman Islands government to the Caribbean Utilities Company, Ltd. In July 2012, in an effort to resolve several issues relating to the retail license renewal negotiations, the Company filed an Application for Leave to Apply for Judicial Review (the “Application”) with the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands (the “Court”), seeking: (i) a declaration that certain provisions of the Water Authority Law, 2011 and the Water (Production and Supply) Law, 2011, appear to be incompatible and a determination as to how those provisions should be interpreted, (ii) a declaration that the WAC’s roles as the principal license negotiator, statutory regulator and our competitor put the WAC in a position of hopeless conflict, and (iii) a declaration that the WAC’s decision to replace the rate structure under our current exclusive license with RCAM was predetermined and unreasonable. Throughout the course of the retail license renewal negotiations, the Company has objected to the use of RCAM on the basis that it believes such a model would not promote the efficient operation of its water utility and could ultimately increase water rates to its customers. In October 2012, the Company was notified that the Court agreed to consider the issues raised by the Company in the Application. As a result, the Company, the Cayman Islands government and the WAC would have the opportunity to present their positions to the Court in a trial proceeding. The hearing for this judicial review was held on April 1, 2014. Prior to the commencement of the hearing, the parties agreed that the Court should solely be concerned with the interpretation of the statutory provisions. As part of this agreement, the WAC agreed to consider the Company’s further representations regarding the rate model that should be used in the renewed license. In June 2014, the Court determined that: (i) the renewal of the 1990 License does not require a public bidding process; and (ii) the WAC is the proper entity to negotiate with the Company for the renewal of the 1990 License. As a result of the Court’s ruling, the Company expects to recommence license negotiations with the WAC in the near future. If the Company does not ultimately enter into a new license agreement and no other party is awarded a license, the Company expects to be permitted to continue to supply water to its service area. It is possible that the Cayman Islands government could offer a third party a license to service some or all of the Company’s present service area. In such event, the Company may assume the license offered to the third party by exercising its right of first refusal. However, the terms of any new license agreement may not be as favorable to the Company as the terms under which it is presently operating and could materially reduce the operating income and cash flows that the Company has historically generated from its retail license and could require the Company to record an impairment charge to reduce the $3,499,037 carrying value of its goodwill. Such impairment charge could have a material adverse impact on the Company’s results of operations. The Company is presently unable to determine what impact the resolution of this matter will have on its cash flows, financial condition or results of operations. Windsor Plant Water Supply Agreement CW-Bahamas provides bulk water to the Water and Sewerage Corporation of The Bahamas (“WSC”), which distributes the water through its own pipeline system to residential, commercial and tourist properties on the Island of New Providence. Pursuant to a water supply agreement, CW-Bahamas was required to provide the WSC with at least 16.8 million gallons per week of potable water from the Windsor plant, and the WSC had contracted to purchase at least that amount from CW-Bahamas on a take-or-pay basis. This water supply agreement was scheduled to expire when CW-Bahamas delivered the total amount of water required under the agreement in July 2013, but has been extended on a month-to-month basis. At the conclusion of the agreement, the WSC has the option to (i) extend the agreement for an additional five years at a rate to be negotiated; (ii) exercise a right of first refusal to purchase any materials, equipment and facilities that CW-Bahamas intends to remove from the site at a purchase price to be negotiated; or (iii) require CW-Bahamas to remove all materials, equipment and facilities from the site. At the request of the government of The Bahamas, CW-Bahamas continues to operate and maintain the Windsor plant on a month-to-month basis to provide the government of The Bahamas with additional time to decide whether or not it will extend CW-Bahamas’ water supply agreement for the Windsor plant on a long term basis. The Company is presently unable to determine if CW-Bahamas’ water supply agreement for its Windsor plant will be further extended or, if extended, on what terms. CW-Bahamas generated approximately $1.6 million and $1.8 million in revenues from the operation of this plant during the three months ended June 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively, and approximately $3.3 million and $3.6 million in revenues from this plant during the six months ended June 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively. CW-Belize By Statutory Instrument No. 81 of 2009, the Minister of Public Utilities of the government of Belize published an order, the Public Utility Provider Class Declaration Order, 2009 (the “Order”), which as of May 1, 2009 designated CW-Belize as a public utility provider under the laws of Belize. With this designation, the Public Utilities Commission of Belize (the “PUC”) has the authority to set the rates charged by CW-Belize and to otherwise regulate its activities. On November 1, 2010, CW-Belize received a formal complaint from the PUC alleging that CW-Belize was operating without a license under the terms of the Water Industry Act. CW-Belize applied for this license in December 2010. On July 29, 2011, the PUC issued the San Pedro Public Water Supply Quality and Security Complaint Order (the “Second Order”) which among other things requires that (i) CW-Belize and its customer jointly make a submission to the responsible Minister requesting that the area surrounding CW-Belize’s seawater abstraction wells be designated a forest reserve or national park and be designated a Controlled Area under section 58 of the Water Industry Act, (ii) CW-Belize submit an operations manual for CW-Belize’s desalination plant to the PUC for approval, (iii) CW-Belize and its customer modify the water supply agreement between the parties to (a) include new water quality parameters included in the Order and (b) cap the current exclusive water supply arrangement in the agreement at a maximum of 450,000 gallons per day, (iv) CW-Belize keep a minimum number of replacement seawater RO membranes in stock at all times and (v) CW-Belize take possession of and reimburse the PUC for certain equipment which the PUC purchased from a third-party in late 2010. CW-Belize has applied for declaratory judgment and has been granted a temporary injunction to stay the enforcement of the Second Order by the PUC until such time as the matter could be heard by the Belize courts. The initial hearing on this matter was conducted on October 30 and 31, 2012 with an additional hearing on November 29, 2012. The ruling on this case is pending. The Company is presently unable to determine what impact the Order and the Second Order will have on its results of operations, financial position or cash flows, and as a result, no provision for any possible loss resulting from the resolution of this contingency has been made in the financial statements.

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