8. Assignment of Proceeding
John A. Bohn is the assigned Commissioner and Maryam Ebke is the assigned ALJ in this proceeding.
1. The moratorium has been in place since CalWater acquired Coast Springs from Dominguez.
2. The expense associated with the moratorium could have been reasonably foreseen and planned for by CalWater in its previous GRCs.
3. All parties agree that CalWater must continue the service connection moratorium in Coast Springs.
4. Coast Springs does not have sufficient supplies to add new customers.
5. CalWater's cost estimate for the desalination unit does not include all costs of building a unit.
6. The proposed desalination unit would produce more water than needed to serve the applicants on the service list.
7. D.03-03-037 established a procedure for maintaining a waiting list in Coast Springs
8. CalWater has placed four individuals and 14 spaces associated with Parcel K on the waiting list that are without submitted applications.
9. The options proposed by the parties may be more economical than a desalination unit and could provide faster and more effective ways to obtain additional supplies in Coast Springs.
10. The Commission has established a four-pronged test to determine if a memorandum account is appropriate.
11. CalWater does not meet the Commission's four-pronged test for establishing a memorandum account.
12. CalWater's treatment of the waiting list for new service connections in Coast Springs is inconsistent with the directive of D.03-03-037.
13. Based on the totality of the circumstances in this case, imposing a fine for non-compliance is not warranted.
14. An investigation of CalWater's business practices would be beyond the scope of this proceeding.
15. Generally, DHS requires an additional capacity of one gpm for every eight customers.
16. CalWater would need about 0.875 gpm for seven additional customers.
17. Many of the proposed options to increase water supply discussed herein have the potential to directly affect CalWater's water supply and help lift the moratorium if pursued.
18. Specific information, such as cost, the amount of additional water that each project could produce, the required permits, and the amount of time required to complete each project are needed in order to determine the most viable solutions.
19. Young's motion for oral argument before the Commission is moot.
1. The service connection moratorium in Coast Springs should be extended.
2. CalWater's request for authority to establish a memorandum account to record costs associated with the selected projects to lift the moratorium should be denied.
3. CalWater should pursue costs associated with system improvements to lift the moratorium in its next GRC, due in 2009.
4. CalWater should examine all the remedial measures and options as described herein and file a report with its next GRC.
5. CalWater should file a plan for providing redundancy and back up service in Coast Springs in its next GRC.
6. CalWater's request for authorization to establish a memorandum account should be rejected.
7. DRA's motion to fine CalWater should be rejected.
8. DRA's motion to review CalWater's procedures for handling personal customer information should be denied without prejudice.
9. CalWater should present in its next GRC the procedures it follows and the methods it uses to protect customer information.
10. CalWater should file a Tier 2 advice letter presenting evidence correcting the waiting list.
IT IS ORDERED that:
1. The service connection moratorium in Coast Springs Water Systems (Coast Springs) is extended until the Commission reviews CalWater's plan for obtaining additional water supplies in CalWater's next general rate case proceeding.
2. California Water Service Company's (CalWater) request to establish a memorandum account to record the cost of remedies to lift the moratorium is denied.
3. CalWater shall explore the system improvement projects ordered herein, as well as others that appear reasonable, and submit a report to the Commission with its next GRC, identifying each project's estimated cost, the amount of additional water the project expects to produce, the required permits, and the amount of time the project would require for completion.
4. CalWater shall follow the Commission's System Improvement Policy and plan for expenses related to remedies to lift the moratorium in its next GRC.
5. CalWater shall file a plan for providing redundancy and back up service in Coast Springs with its next general rate case.
6. The motion of the Division of Ratepayer Advocates (DRA) to investigate whether CalWater should be fined for failure to comply with Commission Decision 03-03-037 is denied.
7. The motion of the DRA to investigate CalWater's procedures for protecting customer information is denied without prejudice.
8. CalWater shall present the procedures it follows and the methods it uses to protect customer information in its next general rate case.
9. CalWater shall file a Tier 2 advice letter presenting evidence correcting the waiting list no later than 10 days from the date of this decision.
10. The motion of Jeffrey Young requesting oral argument before the Commission is denied as moot.
11. Application 06-11-021 is closed.
This order is effective today.
Dated March 13, 2008, at San Francisco, California.
