General Rate Case for Hawai‘i Water Service’s Approved

The Hawai‘i Public Utilities Commission on Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019, approved a Decision and Order for Hawai‘i Water Service’s (Hawai‘i Water) general rate case for its Waikoloa Resort water, wastewater, and irrigation systems, enabling the utility to increase annual revenues by $1.7 million over three years. The Decision and Order, effective Feb. 8, 2019, allows recovery of investments made by the California Water Service Group subsidiary to improve reliability of its systems along with prudently incurred increases in operating costs.

Major recent investments in the Waikoloa Resort water and wastewater systems include upgrades made to the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system; construction of two new water wells; upgrades to an existing well and storage tank; electrical upgrades; replacement of water and wastewater pipelines; and inclusion of the remainder of the resort’s wastewater treatment plant construction costs. The revenue increase, phased in over three years, includes $800,000 in each of the first two years and $100,000 in the third year.

“We appreciate the Hawai‘i Public Utilities Commission’s diligent analysis of our operations, costs, and service and its work to ensure rates accurately reflect the costs to provide reliable, safe, and high-quality utility service,” said Martin A. Kropelnicki, president and CEO. “With this decision, we can continue to focus on fulfilling our promise to provide quality, service, and value to our customers and communities, both for their everyday and emergency needs.”

Hawai‘i Water’s last rate increase in the Waikoloa Resort occurred in 2014, and was based on investments made in 2013 and earlier.

Hawai‘i Water Service provides water and wastewater service to many communities located on Maui and Big Island of Hawai‘i. Hawai‘i Water Service is a wholly owned subsidiary of California Water Service Group, which also includes California Water Service, Washington Water Service, New Mexico Water Service, CWS Utility Services and HWS Utility Services. Together, these companies provide regulated and non-regulated utility service to approximately two million people in more than 100 California, Washington, New Mexico, and Hawai‘i communities. Group’s common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “CWT.” Additional information is available online.