LUCERNE — A tentative settlement agreement in a water rates case is set to increase rates in Lucerne to provide for a predicted deficit in funds and upgrade the water system.
The new agreement is expected to allow the California Water Service Company (Cal Water) to increase water rates in the Redwood Valley District”s Lucerne System, as well as 27 other water districts in the state, stated Justin Skarb, Government and Community Relations Manager of California Water Service Company.
The General Rates Case Settlement (GRC) would increase rates for roughly 700 customers in Lucerne to increase rates for water system improvement projects.
The GRC includes clauses that will attempt to limit the burden on customers. The Rate Support Fund (RSF), which will reduce the cost of a limited amount of Ccf concumed, was implemented because Lucerne has fewer customers to share water service costs than other districts. The Low-Income Rate Assistance (LIRA) will help households that qualify by providing a 50-percent or $30 service charge discount, whichever is lowest.
Using the average water consumption in Lucerne as a base, which according Cal Water is about Five Ccf or 3,740 gallons, Residents who do not qualify for the LIRA discount are expected to see an increase in their rates of roughly 19-percent. On the other hand, households that do qualify may see a decrease of almost 3-percent, according to Skarb.
The RSF sets a water cost of $4.52 per Ccf for the first 10 Ccf. Consumption of Ccf after 10 would be charged at a rate of $14.63.
Under the proposed settlement, the average residential monthly service charge would be roughly $50. Taking into consideration RSF reductions, customers who qualify for LIRA would see their service charge cut and have and would see at total bill of about $48 a month. Customers who don”t qualify for LIRA are projected to see rates of about $73.
According to Skarb, roughly 41-percent of Cal Water Customers in Lucerne qualify for LIRA. Customers qualify for LIRA if the they are enrolled in a public assistance program or earn an annual income of less than $22,980 for an individual or $47,100 for a family of four. More information of qualification requirements for specific family size is available at calwater.com.
According to the GRC, Lucerne projected a return rate of negative 1.7-pecent in 2014 under current rates. With the increases, the return rate is expected to rise to 7.94-percent.
The settlement included plans for several water system improvements in the different districts. In Lucerne, it included installing 1,020 feet of 8-inch water main, two fire hydrants and? a new water main to replace the existing 6-inch water main on Country Club Drive, Skarb stated.? Those replacements are meant to improve the reliability of the system.?Plans also include the installation of disinfection bi-product removal at our treatment plant, which will allow Cal Water to improve water treatment capabilities and meet new water quality monitoring standards.
“When considering water system infrastructure improvements, we go to great lengths to ensure that we only propose those projects that are absolutely necessary,” Skarb stated.
New funding is also aimed at improving preventive maintenance and reduce the needs for repairs.
According to the settlement proposal, in 2011, 76-percent of the maintenance time spent by Cal Water electrical and mechanical technicians was on repairing equipment and 24-percent was used on planned preventive maintenance. The report also cites the American Water Works Association report, which states that planned maintenance ratio of 24-percent is in the bottom half of the bottom quartile performance. Top quartile performance ratios have planned maintenance represent of 74-percent or greater of total maintenance spend.
Cal Water, the Office of Ratepayer Advocates (ORA), formerly the Division of Ratepayer Advocates (DRA), Lake County and other parties had been engaged in settlement discussions for the last several months, Skarb stated.
The final decision is on the proposal is expected to be made early next year, Skarb stated. In order for the proposal to become finalized it has to be approved by the California Public Utilities Commission.
Isaac Brambila is an associate editor for Lake County Publishing. Reach him at 263-5636 ext. 37 or at ibrambila@record-bee.com.
