Updated November 6th 2017 at 2:30pm
SUBJECT: Water hearing with CPUC
WHEN: Monday November 6th, 2017, 7:30pm
WHERE: City Hall of San Jose, City Council chambers, 200 East Santa Clara Street, San Jose CA
Background:SJWC filed on April 3rd A.17-04.001 requesting rate increase in the rate of return. The requested increase would increase revenue by $7.55M (2.1%). Cost of Capital defines how much money SJWC is allowed to recover in water rates as a return on the money it has invested.
Print the NO RATE INCREASE image below and pin it to your shirt
Speaking points below
You will have 1 minute to speak (possibly 2) – so keep it simple
Start with an OPENING STATEMENT:as outlined below
- POINT#1if you are born in Jan/Feb
- POINT#2if you are born in March/April
- POINT#3 for folks born in May/June
- POINT#4 for folks born in July/August
- POINT#5 for folks born in September/October
- POINT#6 for folks born in November/December
Finish with a final statement from below - but you can add your own
Feel free to use any of the case studies below for your talking points
Dear PUC President Picker, Commissioners and staff members
OPENING STATEMENT:My name is > and I am a resident of <CITY>
I am here to convey that increasing rates and increasing the rate of return for San Jose Water is a very bad idea.
SJWC has done very well and likely recovered their Cost of Capital many times over. NO MORE INCREASE IN RATES PLEASE
Since 2010, San Jose Water Company has made $222 Million dollars in profit.
I DO WANT TOTHANK THE CPUC COMMISSIONERS, STAFF AND ORA
You are all doing an amazing job, standing up for us citizens!
Please continue taking a tough stand against a greedy and shameless corporation called San Jose Water Company.
Thank you for your rejection ofrate increase via AL 501, 510 and suspending Advice Letter 512. I thank you for initiating the audit and investigation of San Jose Water Company. San Jose Water Company has conducted some very sad gouging of their customers in the name of drought and increased their profits.
POINT#1 :We are NOT happy that San Jose Water Company has had a windfall $51M profit last year on the backs of a droughtand citizens like us that fill the room (up from $21M in 2012) – while we citizens have no choice, but to keep paying more and more to SJWC thanks to the super high water bills.ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! There has to be a limit to greed.
POINT #2 I wish we had a public utility company serving us. A public utility company would not have such greed for profits and would not be exploiting the system to gouge us consumers. We are sick and tired of it
POINT # 3:CONDUCT A THOROUGH INVESTIGATION AND AUDIT:We are glad that CPUC initiated a thorough investigation and audit of SJWC's past and present billing practices Please penalize SJWC for any wrong doings and public reprimand any wrong practices currently in place. Please protect the citizens
POINT #4NO FURTHER RATE INCREASES:We have seen enough of the rate increases. SJWC's greed won't end here. Please don't approve any more rate increases. Consumer gouging has to stop now.
POINT #5THOROUGH SCRUTINY OF COST OF CAPITAL & GENERAL RATE INCREASES BEFORE ANY RATE INCREASES ARE GRANTED:Please consider comparison metrics for all other public &private utilities in the bay area in determining the appropriate cost of capital adjustments and rate increases for future years.
POINT #6THOROUGH SCRUTINY OF EVERYTHING SJWC SUBMITS AND HAS SUBMITTED IN THE PAST:As part of the audit, please evaluate all the filings by SJWC currently in place…exploitation that has been conducted surgically and methodically by San Jose Water Company these last few years. SJWC has stacked the system to suit it’s greed and it is time, we pull the plug on that.
FINAL STATEMENT:
BottomlineI AM VERY UPSET and ANGRY at this blatant monopolistic exploitation BY SJWC. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH
We are a choiceless consumer but not voiceless consumer.
Thank for you for protecting the citizens
HOW HAS SJWC DONE FINANCIALLY?
2016 / 2015 / 2014 / 2013 / 2012 / 2011 / 2010Population served / 1.092M / 1.089M / 1.085M / 1.077M / 1.07M
Op. Revenue / $339M / $305M / $319M / $276M / $261M / $222M / $203M
Income (before Tax) / $86M / $61M / $76M / $36M / $37M / $36M / $30M
Net Income (after Tax) / $52M / $37M / $51M / $22M / $22M / $21M / $17M
Income % Y2Y / 40%↑ / 28% ↓ / 130%↑ / 0% / 0% / 23%↑ / -
Revenue increase (2010 to 2016): 66% INCREASE
Income increase (2010 to 2016): 200% INCREASE
- CASE STUDY B: SANJOSE WATER 2X compared to GREAT OAKS
- CASE STUDY C: SANJOSE WATER 5.5x compared to Coachella Valley Water District
- CASE STUDY D: SAN JOSE WATER RATES DOUBLED in 3 YEARS
- CASE STUDY E: COMPARE THE PRICE OF WATER SJWC vs LAS VEGAS
- CASE STUDY F: SJWC 350% increase since 2010
- CASE STUFY G: SAMPLE CASE STUDY JUNIPERO WAY, SARATOGA CA:
PLEASE REJECT A.17.04-011
Application A.17.04-001SJWCis requestingan increase in authorized Cost of Capital from the Jan 1, 2018 to December 31, 2020.
Scroll down below for the graph and use case of how much our water rates have gone up.How many rate increases will we continue to see?
1 –SJWC believes Application A.17.04-001 is necessary for it to attract capital to fund water system investments that allow the company to meet its obligations to safety and reliably serve its customers
MY RESPONSE:The annual increases in San Jose Water Company rates from 2013 to 2016 averaged 20%, and San Jose Water Company customers cannot sustain such high rate increases year after year. The year-to-year income growth from 2015 to 2016 was 40% - on the backs of a severe California drought and over-charging their customers in the name of the drought. Why do they need more money now? Haven’t they done well financially already? Where is the financial windfall being put to use? Not in capital improvement projects? I am surprised! I am angry too!
Please refer to section below in this letterCASE STUDY F: SJWC 350% increase since 2010
2 –SJWC’s proposal Application A.17.04-001 will assist it in maintaining an investment-grade rating thereby reducing the overall financing costs and contribute to SJWC’s ability to provide safe, high quality, and reliable water service at reasonable rates
MY RESPONSE:SJWC’s 2015-Q3 to 2016-Q3 income went up from $9.5M to $19M. This has caused lots of angst within our community. Isn’t SJWC planning to use this extra cash for maintaining and investment?
The graph in the appendix under section CASE STUDY F: SJWC 350% increase since 2010demonstrates how a home owner reduced consumption by 30-50% over the past 7 years HOWEVER SJWC rate has increased 350% in the same time period. This is not justified, nor fair and I ask CPUC to step up and stop this blatant gouging of the consumer
CASE STUDY A: SCVWD Jan 24th 2017 SCVWD board meeting
At the Jan 24th SCVWD Boardmeeting Tim Guster, Great Oaks Water General Counsel (video link of this meeting: 1:48:00) recommended the Board to immediately rescind resolution calling for 20% water use reduction and proposed a new resolution that declares conservation as a way of life. Tim also said that based upon removal of the 20% mandate, Great Oaks would immediately request CPUC to allow them to drop surcharges. They would file an advice letter that there is no longer a 20% call and modify tariffs accordingly to immediately stop surcharge.
We did not hear a similar categorical statement from San Jose Water company. To quote John Tang "CPUC would probably allow us to eliminate the surcharge if it was voluntary, if we filed for it.” You can watch it here Time 01:18:32
CASE STUDY B: SANJOSE WATER 2X compared to GREAT OAKS
From Amalarasan, San Jose resident.we are an household of 3 and our bimonthly water consumption is a mere 9 CCF, but our bill is $141.
A friend of mine, 6-7 miles away from home and is in City of San Jose, his house is serviced by Great Oaks water company, For the same 9CCF, the Great Oaks bill is $70
San Jose Water Company charges: $141
Great Oaks: $70
CASE STUDY C: SANJOSE WATER 5.5x compared to Coachella Valley Water District
From Melinda Ghavi a Saratoga resident: I would like an explanation as to the enormous disparity in the water rates charged by San Jose Water Company vs Coachella Valley Water District. You will see from the attached bills that SJWC is charging roughly 5.5 times more than CVWD; specifically SJWC is charging approximately $8.8871 per CCF whereas CVWD is charging $1.6127 per CCF.
Please keep in mind that the Coachella Valley is in the desert, where the temperature today is 120 (common in the summer months). The multitudes of green golf courses that are watered twice daily and expansive green lawns in public and private grounds compares unfavorably to the dead lawns in the Santa Clara Valley. CVWD extracts their water from aquifers deep underground whereas SJWC gets water from various locations delivered using infrastructure built decades ago.
I cannot rationalize why a bill for 33 CCF from CVWD amounts to $53.22 whereas a bill for 28 CCF from SJWD amounts to $248.84. And, to add further insult, it seems SJWD is boldly asking for an increase in rates. It seems much more appropriate for the CPUC to drastically REDUCE SJWC rates.
CASE STUDY D: JODY GREENBERG, SAN JOSE WATER RATES DOUBLED in 3 YEARS
Below is a chart of the per-gallon prices of water for two 4-plex buildings inSanta ClaraCounty, one inCampbell(95008) and one inSan Jose(95126). These are two real life examples of water pricing in SCC.The effective price per 1000 gallons plotted in the charts is derived by taking the entire water bill cost and dividing by the total number of gallons used in that period. This accounts for both the fixed and variable costs, and gives a clear picture on what customers are really paying for water based on their usage. Both of these buildings use a typical amount of water per bedroom.
The chart clearly shows that water cost per gallon has basically DOUBLED approximately 3 years. How can this possibly be justified? What other utility costs double in 3 years? It must surely be impossible to argue that the fixed costs of running the water company or infrastructure have doubled in 3 years. So the only possible explanation that could be used to justify this massive and rapid increase in prices per gallon is the drought, and that somehow the scarcity of water pushed up the prices since we have to import the water. Or, perhaps water prices were artificially inflated on purpose to further incentivize conservation during the drought? In either case, how can a FURTHER price increase possibly be justified due to customers using less water? Somehow I doubt that even with the massive amount of rain this year and reservoirs starting to fill back up, that we will see ANY decrease in water prices back towards the pre-drought prices.
I would like to see some real data that shows how a further variable cost increase can possibly be reasonable, especially given that effective per-gallon prices have already DOUBLED in 3 years. Without data that justifies the current pricing vs. the pricing of 3 years ago,
CASE STUDY E: COMPARE THE PRICE OF WATER SJWC vs LAS VEGAS
Our water price is even more expensive than Las Vegas, the city in a middle of the desert, they have to pump water thousand of miles from Utah.
CASE STUDY F: SJWC 350% increase since 2010
Here is sample data from Naresh Makhijani – who has emailed you separately
My family has done our part and has decreased our water usage 30-50% over the past 7 years HOWEVER, our rate has increased 350% in the same time period.
Scroll down for graph.
CASE STUDY G: SJWC 309% increase 2007-2016 at residence:
From actual water bill of a home on Junipero Way, Saratoga