- Application to recover more than $135 million in drinking water
and wastewater infrastructure investment that is not in current
rates
- Expansion of financial assistance for income-eligible
customers
- Reflection of higher operating and borrowing costs
- Subject to extensive review process by PURA with input from the
Office of Consumer Counsel, the State Attorney General and the
public
The Connecticut Water Company announced the filing of an
application to amend customer rates with the Connecticut Public
Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA).
The application begins a public process conducted by PURA, with
the Office of Consumer Counsel (OCC) and the State Attorney
General’s (AG) office representing customers’ interests in the
proceeding. During the rate case, PURA, OCC and the AG will analyze
and review the cost of providing water service to customers so
rates can be set to reflect reasonable and prudent expenses.
Customers and the public will have an opportunity to comment on the
application. PURA has 270 days to review the application, and
approved rates will go into effect soon after.
“The primary drivers of this request are the more than $135
million of investments in our water and wastewater system
infrastructure that have been made to ensure reliable service and
high-quality drinking water for families and communities, and
higher operating costs driven by inflation, neither of which are
included in current water rates,” said Craig J. Patla, president of
Connecticut Water.
PURA regulation uses a historic test year, which means that
utilities are only allowed to recover infrastructure investments
after projects are completed and in service and PURA has determined
they are providing a benefit to customers. Likewise, Connecticut
Water is operating on expense levels reviewed and authorized in the
last general rate case (GRC). Since the last GRC, the costs of
energy, treatment chemicals, labor and borrowing have increased,
but these costs are not recovered in rates for water service.
“We look forward to demonstrating to PURA and other stakeholders
that we have made prudent decisions and are efficiently operating
our business while delivering world-class service and a reliable
supply of high-quality drinking water,” said Patla.
If the request is approved as proposed, annual revenues will
increase by approximately $21 million, or 18%, over current
authorized revenues and would be effective on or about July 1,
2024. PURA will determine through the rate case process the actual
level and distribution of any approved rate increase, but it is
expected that the amount of the increase will vary based on
location or rate division within the company and customer class —
residential, commercial, industrial or municipal.
Among the numerous infrastructure investments made by the
company are the following:
- Solar arrays in Clinton and Colchester that produce clean
energy and reduce more costly energy purchases from the electric
utility.
- A new, $12 million groundwater treatment facility in East
Windsor.
- A 5.3-mile interconnection between the water systems in Somers
and Stafford, including a new pump station and tank, for redundancy
and more robust long-term supply capability.
- 3,500 feet of new main to significantly improve water quality
in Middlebury.
- A new 1-million-gallon storage tank in Plainfield.
Among the other proposals in the rate application are the
following:
- Expanding the low-income Water Rate Assistance Program (WRAP)
for eligible customers. Connecticut Water has offered a 15%
discount on water bills through WRAP since 2021 and was the first
water utility in the state to offer this type of program.
- To mitigate the impacts on municipal budgets in communities
where Connecticut Water provides public fire protection through
fire hydrants on its water systems, the proposed increase in public
fire charges is 5% for most municipalities.
In addition to expanding WRAP, Connecticut Water is proposing to
continue its H2O – Help 2 Our Customers assistance program,
offering payment plans and financial assistance to eligible
customers directly and through its partnership with Operation
Fuel.
For more information on the rate application, visit
www.ctwater.com/ratecase.
About Connecticut Water
The Connecticut Water Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of SJW
Group (NYSE: SJW), is a public water utility that is regulated by
the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority. The company
provides water service to more than 107,000 customers in 60
Connecticut towns and wastewater services to 3,000 customers in the
town of Southbury, Connecticut.
The towns served are Ashford, Avon, Beacon Falls, Bethany,
Bolton, Brooklyn, Burlington, Canton, Chester, Clinton, Colchester,
Columbia, Coventry, Deep River, Durham, East Granby, East Haddam,
East Hampton, East Windsor, Ellington, Enfield, Essex, Farmington,
Griswold, Guilford, Haddam, Hebron, Killingly, Killingworth,
Lebanon, Madison, Manchester, Mansfield, Marlborough, Middlebury,
Naugatuck, Old Lyme, Old Saybrook, Oxford, Plainfield, Plymouth,
Portland, Prospect, Simsbury, Somers, Southbury, South Windsor,
Stafford, Stonington, Suffield, Thomaston, Thompson, Tolland,
Vernon, Voluntown, Waterbury, Westbrook, Willington, Windsor Locks
and Woodstock.
About SJW Group
SJW Group is among the largest investor-owned pure-play water
and wastewater utilities in the United States, providing
life-sustaining and high-quality water service to nearly 1.5
million people. SJW Group’s locally led and operated water
utilities – San Jose Water Company in California, The Connecticut
Water Company in Connecticut, The Maine Water Company in Maine and
SJWTX Inc. (dba The Texas Water Company) in Texas – possess the
financial strength, operational expertise and technological
innovation to safeguard the environment, deliver outstanding
service to customers and provide opportunities to employees. SJW
Group remains focused on investing in its operations, remaining
actively engaged in its local communities and delivering continued
sustainable value to its stockholders. For more information about
SJW Group, please visit www.sjwgroup.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as
amended. Some of these forward-looking statements can be identified
by the use of forward-looking words such as “believes,” “expects,”
“may,” “will,” “should,” “seeks,” “approximately,” “intends,”
“plans,” “estimates,” “projects,” “strategy,” or “anticipates,” or
the negative of those words or other comparable terminology. These
forward looking statements are only predictions and are subject to
risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that are difficult to
predict.
These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks,
uncertainties and assumptions including, but not limited to, the
following factors: (1) the effect of water, utility, environmental
and other governmental policies and regulations, including actions
concerning rates, authorized return on equity, authorized capital
structures, capital expenditures and other decisions; (2) changes
in demand for water and other services; (3) the impact of the
Coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic on our business operation and
financial results; (4) unanticipated weather conditions and changes
in seasonality including those affecting water supply and customer
usage; (5) climate change and the effects thereof; (6) unexpected
costs, charges or expenses; (7) our ability to successfully
evaluate investments in new business and growth initiatives; (8)
contamination of our water supplies and damage or failure of our
water equipment and infrastructure; (9) the risk of work stoppages,
strikes and other labor-related actions; (10) catastrophic events
such as fires, earthquakes, explosions, floods, ice storms,
tornadoes, hurricanes, terrorist acts, physical attacks,
cyber-attacks, epidemic, or similar occurrences; (11) changes in
general economic, political, business and financial market
conditions; (12) the ability to obtain financing on favorable
terms, which can be affected by various factors, including credit
ratings, changes in interest rates, compliance with regulatory
requirements, compliance with the terms and conditions of our
outstanding indebtedness, and general market and economic
conditions; and (13) legislative and general market and economic
developments. The risks, uncertainties and other factors may cause
the actual results, performance or achievements of SJW Group to be
materially different from any future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements.
Results for a quarter are not indicative of results for a full
year due to seasonality and other factors. Other factors that may
cause actual results, performance or achievements to materially
differ are described in SJW Group’s most recent Annual Report on
Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on
Form 8-K filed with the SEC. Forward-looking statements are not
guarantees of performance, and speak only as of the date made. SJW
Group undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231003641606/en/
Daniel J. Meaney, APR Director of External and Corporate
Communications Connecticut Water Company 860-664-6016
Daniel.Meaney@ctwater.com
SJW (NYSE:SJW)
Graphique Historique de l'Action
De Août 2024 à Sept 2024
SJW (NYSE:SJW)
Graphique Historique de l'Action
De Sept 2023 à Sept 2024