LUCERNE Administrative Law Judge James McVicar has released a draft of the proposed settlement for determining water rates in Lucerne, but has requested additional information before final rates will be approved.
In September, California Water Service (CWS) requested that the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approve a 273 percent increase in water rates for Lucerne residents to pay for a new water plant.
The Division of Ratepayer Advocates (DRA), who represents the rate paying customers of utilities regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission, said in a December report that, “Water rates should be low enough so that low-income customers will not have to displace other essential services (food, energy, medical care, etc.) to pay their water bills.”
That”s the message Lucerne residents gave McVicar repeatedly at the November hearings held at the Lucerne Alpine Senior Center. Lucerne Community Water Organization (LCWO)”s pro bono attorney, Stephen Elias, communicated that message again, entering it as evidence in hearings held in later January.
LCWO was granted intervenor status in the hearings to speak on behalf of Lucerne”s residents.
“When his final decision comes in,” Elias said last week, “it will have a set rate for Lucerne.”
McVicar has asked that Cal Water and DRA “provide assistance to the Commission”s Water Division in preparing the figures and appendices needed to complete the proposed decision.”
Elias said that McVicar “wants more information on the actual numbers from CWS to complete his decision.”
In March, all parties in the rate case settled to establish a new Rate Support Fund (RSF) to address the issues of who would pay for the upgrades to the water plant and how to give a subsidy to low-income residents.
“The new RSF settlement would … lower rates in [Lucerne] by spreading some of their costs across all 24 [CWS] districts. It would also provide support for a new low-income ratepayer assistance program,” the proposal says.
“He ruled on what he could judge on, what he had the information for,” Elias explained, “Now he”s waiting for more information from CWS and DRA.”
And so is Lucerne.
Contact Terre Logsdon at tlogsdon@record-bee.com.
