Notice of Public Hearing – Princeville Utilities Company, Inc. Rate Case (Docket No. 2025-0172)

Posted on Jun 25, 2025 in Announcements, Public Notice
Social Media Graphic/Flyer
image/png, 560 KB

The State of Hawaii Public Utilities Commission (“Commission”) will conduct an IN-PERSON public hearing on July 18, 2025 at 6:00 pm on Kauai Island at Kilauea Elementary School Cafeteria regarding Princeville Utilities Company, Inc.’s (“PUCI”) request for approval of a general rate increase and revisions to its tariff. All are invited to attend the public hearing and state their views on the application or submit comments, which is further described below.

PUBLIC HEARING INFORMATION

Date & Time Utility Service Territory Location
July 18, 2025 at 6:00pm Princeville, Kauai Island Kilauea Elementary School Cafeteria
2440 Kolo Road,
Kilauea, HI 96754

Special Assistance

If you require auxiliary aids, services, or other accommodations due to a disability, please contact the Public Utilities Commission as soon as possible at (808) 586-2020 or [email protected]. Requests made early have a greater likelihood of being fulfilled.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE APPLICATION

PUCI is a public utility authorized to provide water and wastewater (sewer) services to customers in the Princeville resort and community area on the island of Kauai.

PUCI seeks Commission approval to increase its annual revenues by approximately $1,388,444, (144.4% above revenue at current rates) for water distribution service and a net decrease of $451,085 (-15.1% below revenue at current rates) for sewer service and proposes a 7.88% rate of return on its average rate base for both services.

PUCI also proposes changes to its Tariff No. 1 to amend the Automatic Power Cost Adjustment Clause for both water and sewer operations to a new formula for each service that will accurately track the changes in electric expenses; and to add a new requirement for customers seeking to significantly increase water usage to apply for PUCI’s approval.

The requested rate changes are proposed to take place gradually in four steps over two years.

PUCI’s present and proposed rates, and the proposed dollar increase in rates can be found in the hearing notice.

PUCI states that the water rate increase is necessary to allow it a reasonable opportunity to recover its costs and earn a fair return on investment. The sewer rate decrease is proposed to address an over-collection of revenues under current rates.

The Commission will review PUCI’s requests to determine whether the proposed general rate increase, sewer rate decrease, and tariff changes are just and reasonable.

To view the full application and all docketed documents, see the “DOCUMENTS” tab for Docket No. 2025-0172

PUBLIC COMMENTS AND STATEMENTS

Comments may be submitted in writing or given orally during the hearing. All written comments will be publicly accessible on the PUC’s Case and Document Management System.

  • COMMENTS DURING THE HEARING (ORAL TESTIMONY)
    Persons wishing to give oral comments should register at the time of the hearing. Submission of written comments in addition to giving oral comments is highly encouraged.
  • WRITTEN COMMENTS:
    Written comments may be submitted before, during, or after the public hearing. All written comments should reference Docket No. 2025-0172 and include the author’s name and the entity or organization that the author represents, if any. Submit written comments via the following methods:

MORE INFORMATION