Notice Of Public Hearing For Hawaii Water – Ka’anapali Division (Docket No. 2022-0140)

Posted on Jun 12, 2024 in News Release, Public Notice

The State of Hawaii Public Utilities Commission will hold a public hearing on Monday, July 8, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. at the Lahaina Intermediate School Cafeteria regarding Hawaii Water’s rate increase application. All are invited to attend the public hearing and state their views on the application.

Public Hearing Information

Date/Time:
Monday, July 8, 2024, at 6:00 p.m.

Location:
Lahaina Intermediate School Cafeteria
871 Lahainaluna Road
Lahaina, Maui 96761

Brief Summary of Application
The Hawaii Water Service Company, Inc. (“Hawaii Water”) is a public utility that provides water service to resort and residential developments in its Ka’anapali service territory, including Honua Kai, Ka’anapali Golf Estates, Ka’anapali Hillside, Ka’anapali Vista, Kai Ala, Royal Ka’anapali Estates, Lanikeha, the Summit, and the Pinnacle on the Island of Maui.

Hawaii Water seeks a revenue increase of 9.37% or $658,651 for its operations. Hawaii Water proposes to accomplish this increase via, among other things:

  1. a modification of the residential consumption charge from a single rate into a tiered system;
  2. a 54.2% percent increase in monthly meter charges;
  3. a reduction in the non-residential consumption charge by 20.5%; and
  4. the addition of a non-residential conservation surcharge.

 
Hawaii Water also proposes to implement two tariff riders:

  1. a bill credit, that would refund over-collected income tax expense related to the reduction in federal income tax rate resulting from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Credit at a flat rate of $13.89 per month and expire after 84 months; and
  2. a surcharge that would collect deferred COVID-19 expenses and lost gross margins related to the COVID-19 Pandemic at a flat rate of $13.06 per month and expire after 30 months.

 
Hawaii Water also requests approval for an emergency revenue mechanism balancing account (“ERM”), which according to Hawaii Water, would decouple sales from revenue on an interim basis due to the uncertainty around the recovery and reconstruction of Lahaina due to the August 2023 Maui wildfires. The ERM would track recorded sales revenue to approved sales revenue quarterly and create or adjust the sales decoupling component.

The Public Utilities Commission will investigate whether the proposals in the Application, including revisions to Applicant’s rate schedules are just and reasonable.

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

  • IN-PERSON COMMENTS DURING THE HEARING:
    Persons wishing to give oral comments in-person should register at the meeting location at the time of the hearing. Submission of written comments in addition to giving oral comments is highly encouraged.
  • WRITTEN COMMENTS:
    All written comments should reference Docket No. 2022-0140 and include the author’s name and the entity or organization that the author represents, if any.

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