WEBVTT
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The feed for this streaming event brought
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to you by adminmonitor.com.
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Welcome to the
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California Public Utilities Commission.
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This is Public Participation Hearing
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on Southern California Edison's
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Southern California Edison Company
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for authority to increase rates
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for it's Class C Catalina Water Utility
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and recover costs from water and electric customers
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on this day, Tuesday March 30th, 2021.
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Your honor, you may begin.
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Great.
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We will now be on the record.
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The Commission will come to order.
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It is Tuesday, March 30th, 2021
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and this is the remote Public Participation Hearing
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for Southern California Edison's Santa Catalina Water
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Utility general rate case application.
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The application number is 20-10-018.
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My name is Garrett Toy and I am the assigned
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Administrative Law Judge on this proceeding.
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Martha Guzman Aceves is the assigned Commissioner.
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Her advisor, Justin Fong, is here on her behalf.
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Mr. Fong, would you like to make any opening remarks?
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Yes, I would.
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Thank you, Judge Toy.
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I just wanted to say that our office and the CPC
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looks forward to the public's discussion regarding
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this GRC.
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Thank you.
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Thank you.
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The purpose of today's hearing is for the Commission to hear
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from Santa Catalina Water Utility customers
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and members of the public
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about Southern California Edison's application
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to increase rates related
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to the Santa Catalina Water Utility.
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If you have a customer-specific question,
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such as a question about your bills or service,
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we encourage you to please contact SCE
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at the following phone number for help, (909) 824-4547.
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I'll begin by providing some background
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on the California Public Utilities Commission
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and the general rate case application
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and then turn it over to Miss Juanita Hill,
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from Commission's Public Advisor's Office.
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We will then hear brief statements
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from Southern California Edison,
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the Public Advocate's Office,
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The Utility Reform Network, and the Joint Catalina Parties
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before we begin the public comment.
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If you are participating today
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and would like to provide public comments,
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you may do so by calling (800) 857-1917,
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entering passcode 5180519
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and pressing star one on your phone.
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This will alert the operator,
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who will begin to queue public speakers.
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Please provide your name and location.
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If you are a public official,
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please notify the operator of your title and position,
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in addition to your name.
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Please refer to the slide that will be
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on the screen later on.
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We will not be answering questions
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about the application at today's hearing.
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Now some background
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on the California Public Utilities Commission.
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The Public Utilities Commission is the state
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agency that decides how much money the Santa Catalina Water
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Utility may earn and the rates that will be included
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on your bills for water service.
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The Commission is comprised of five Commissioners,
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who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed
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by the California State Senate.
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As the judge in this proceeding, I manage the day-to-day
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activities of the case.
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The five Commissioners are the ones who will decide,
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with a vote, on whether to approve Southern California
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Edison's request.
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My role as the judge is to evaluate the evidence
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in the proceeding and to write a proposed decision based
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on that evidence.
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The proposed decision will then be considered
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by the five Commissioners, who will decide
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whether to adopt the proposed decision from the judge
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or to adopt their own alternate decision,
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Based on the evidence in the proceeding.
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The current schedule for this proceeding indicates
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that the Commission will vote on the decision
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in the first quarter of 2022.
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Now I will provide a summary
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of Southern California Edison's application.
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This past October, Southern California
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Edison submitted its general rate case application
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for the Santa Catalina Water Utility,
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seeking Commission approval of their expected costs
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for owning and operating the company for the years
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2022 through 2026.
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The expenses included
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in Edison's rate case application cover increased costs
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of capital expenditures as well as drought-related expenses.
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We are here today to receive comments from the public
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on SCE's request to increase rates and revenue
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for costs related to the Santa Catalina Water Utility.
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SCE has currently proposed an increased rate
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for Santa Catalina Water Utility customers
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as well as its electric utility customers.
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The proposal would increase rates
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for Santa Catalina Water Utility customers
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by $1.04 million each year from 2022 to 2026,
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amounting to increases of 25% above present revenues
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in 2022, 20% in 2023 over proposed 2022 revenues,
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17% in 2024 over proposed 2023 revenues,
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14% in 2025 over proposed 2024 revenues,
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and 13% in 2026 over 2025 revenues.
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The proposal also asks for approval to increase SCE's
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electrical customer surcharge revenue
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by $5.8 million annually for the years 2022 to 2026.
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The proposal will see average summer bills rise
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from $78.51 cents in 2019 to $222.84 cents in 2027
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for Santa Catalina Water Utility customers.
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SCE has also put forth a proposal
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in which the proposed revenue requirement
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is supplied completely by Catalina Island Water customers,
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resulting in a rise in revenue collections
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of 39.7% each year from 2022 through 2026,
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with a subsequent 50% drop in 2027.
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The proposal would see an average summer bill increase
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from $78.51 in 2019 to $474.46 in 2026.
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Please see the water division fact sheet
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for additional information about those proposals.
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Although we would typically receive comments in person,
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current conditions have precluded that option.
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Your participation today is nonetheless
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greatly appreciated.
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Comments from the public help
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the Public Utilities Commission reach an informed decision.
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You may also leave written comments
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on the Commission's Online Docket Card.
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The Commissioners and I will pay close attention
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to the opinions expressed during today's public hearing.
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A court reporter will be transcribing
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everything that is said today.
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If you speak, I ask that you speak slowly
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and clearly so that the reporter is able
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to capture everything that is said.
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The written transcript
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of today's hearing will be posted publicly
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on the docket card for this proceeding.
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Written comments may be submitted
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on the docket card for this proceeding
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by going to CPUC.ca.gov/board/a2010018comments.
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As of today we have received 243 written public comments.
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I will now invite Miss Juanita Hill,
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of the Commission's Public Advisor's Office,
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to provide guidance on participation in this proceeding.
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Ms. Hill, please proceed.
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Thank you, judge.
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Welcome everyone.
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My name is Juanita Hill
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and I am the supervisor in the CPUC's
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Public Advisor's Office.
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The Public Advisor's Office assists
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in advising the public with participation
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in Commission proceedings.
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First, I want to thank all of you for participating today.
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As the judge and the Commissioner's advisor stated,
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public participation and input are essential
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to the Commission's decision-making process.
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This is your opportunity to be heard,
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to share your thoughts on the application
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with the Administrative Law Judge and the Commissioner.
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If you have specific questions
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about the application or your service,
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please reach out to the Public Advisor's Office
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at public.advisor@CPUC.ca.gov
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or visit the CPUC or the utility's website
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for more information.
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Second, if you or anyone you know
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is not able to make a comment today,
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there are several other ways to become involved.
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If you wish to find more information
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on becoming a party, subscribing to this proceeding,
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or submitting comments via email or the phone,
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please go to our website, CPUC.ca.gov
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or mail the Public Advisor at public.advisor@CPUC.ca.gov.
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All of this information is also on the notice
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that you received for this Public Participation Hearing.
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We look forward to your comments today.
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Thank you.
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Thank you, Ms. Hill.
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We will now hear from some of the parties
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in this proceeding, beginning with a representative
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from Southern California Edison,
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followed by the Public Advocate's Office,
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Catalina Parties, and TURN.
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Mr. Douglas, now, on behalf of SCE, are you ready?
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I am.
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Can you hear me?
Yeah, great, please-
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Thank you, Judge Toy and thank you everyone
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for taking time out of your busy schedules
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and participating in these very important
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Public Participation Hearings today.
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My name is Doug Snow
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and I'm the Director of the General Rate Case
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for Southern California Edison's Water Utility.
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It is a privilege to be here to learn from you
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and to listen to your input and concerns you may have
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regarding our 2022 Catalina Water general rate case.
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Edison recognizes this proceeding is taking place
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during unprecedented times.
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We understand that our customers
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and the communities we serve, including Catalina,
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are facing hardships during the continuing COVID-19 pandemic
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and may need help from us with their bills.
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SCE is sensitive to rate increases during this time
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and we're working hard to continue to provide safe,
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reliable service while mitigating rate increases
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as much as possible.
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SCE has also put in place important customer protections
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to help customers with difficulty paying their bill.
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If you need more information on those customer protections,
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please go to SCE.com/billhelp
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or call (800) 367-8851.
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And there you can find information
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on money-saving programs and tools.
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Additionally, Mr. Jaime Gaitan,
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from our customer service organization,
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is in attendance today to provide a contact
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to help resolve any customer service questions you may have.
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Now turning back to the general rate case,
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we are currently in the middle of what we referred
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to as the discovery period,
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where parties to the proceeding are learning more
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about our application and cost recovery proposal.
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Next in the proceeding, other interested parties,
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including consumer advocates, will submit their
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testimony to present their analysis in SCE's application
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and recommend adjustments to our proposal.
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In September, there will be evidentiary hearing
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so that the Commission can continue to build
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its official record of our proposal.
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Now it's easy to get caught up in the process,
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but at the end of the day, the general rate case is all
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about funding projects, programs, and people
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to provide you safe and reliable service
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and improve that service continuously.
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The focus of our requests in this general rate case
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mostly includes funding to improve three things,
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safety, reliability, and drought resiliency.
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Our request for funding covers both historical
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and future costs for the Catalina Water Utility,
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including capital projects completed
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since our last general rate case,
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costs related to the recent historic drought
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that impacted the Island, operating expenses update
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since our prior general rate case that we filed back
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in 2010, and a forecast of capital improvements.
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We recognize that SCE had not submitted
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a general rate case for the Catalina Water Utility
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in several years, as I mentioned since 2010,
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and that we're requesting a substantial increase
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in revenues but we believe our cost recovery proposal
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strikes a reasonable balance for recovering costs
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for routine system operations and management
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and unplanned costs due to extraordinary events.
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Our GRC seeks to provide adequate funding
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to continue providing the approximately 4,000 residents
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and roughly 1 million annual visitors to the Island
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with safe and reliable water service.
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Ultimately, the Commission will decide the appropriate level
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of funding after a thorough and rigorous legal process
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that includes all stakeholders with different viewpoints,
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including consideration of the comments you share today.
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So that brings us to paying for this work, your bill.
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We are very mindful of the impact of these costs
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on your bill and have developed a cost recovery
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proposal that recognizes this.
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Our GRC proposes to recover revenues
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from Catalina Water customers
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to cover the normal operations, maintenance,
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and capital investments made by the utility.
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SCE is also proposing to phase-in the revenue increase
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over a five-year period to spread out that increase
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and reduce the rate impact in Year One.
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We propose to recover the balance
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of the water utility costs,
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including exceptional drought and environmental costs
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and deferred revenues resulting
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from our five-year phase-in proposal
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from SCE's system-wide electric customers.
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If SCE's cost recovery proposal is approved,
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it will increase an average residential bill
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by about $32 per month for non-income-qualified customers,
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$19 for enrolled income-qualified customers,
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and $32 for commercial customers in 2022.
00:17:25.660 --> 00:17:28.080
The increase would be an additional 23
00:17:28.080 --> 00:17:31.547
for non-income-qualified residential customers,
00:17:31.547 --> 00:17:35.000
$24 for enrolled income-qualified customers,
00:17:35.000 --> 00:17:38.730
and $45 for commercial customers each year
00:17:38.730 --> 00:17:41.883
for the years 2023 through 2026.
00:17:43.650 --> 00:17:46.680
Alternatively, if all costs were to be recovered
00:17:46.680 --> 00:17:49.360
from just the Island customers
00:17:49.360 --> 00:17:51.800
or our water customers on the Island,
00:17:51.800 --> 00:17:54.370
again a phased-in over a five-year period,
00:17:54.370 --> 00:17:57.340
the increase would average about $41
00:17:57.340 --> 00:18:00.447
for non-income-qualified residential customers,
00:18:00.447 --> 00:18:04.320
$40 for income-qualified customers,
00:18:04.320 --> 00:18:08.890
and $88 for commercial customers in 2022
00:18:08.890 --> 00:18:10.760
with monthly bill increases growing
00:18:10.760 --> 00:18:15.760
to 123, 108 and $239.26, respectively.
00:18:20.490 --> 00:18:22.350
I realize this GRC is impactful
00:18:22.350 --> 00:18:25.050
for many of you and the timing is not ideal,
00:18:25.050 --> 00:18:28.060
but the GRC is necessary to recover aging costs
00:18:28.060 --> 00:18:30.590
for historical projects and events
00:18:30.590 --> 00:18:32.550
while generating the necessary revenues
00:18:32.550 --> 00:18:34.167
to continue providing safe
00:18:34.167 --> 00:18:37.143
and reliable water service to the Island.
00:18:38.170 --> 00:18:41.040
We believe our proposal strike the prudent balance
00:18:41.040 --> 00:18:44.260
between essential services we provide to you
00:18:44.260 --> 00:18:46.623
and what it costs to provide those services.
00:18:47.910 --> 00:18:51.070
We realize any increase in bills can be challenging
00:18:51.070 --> 00:18:53.350
and we have several programs, tips, and tools
00:18:53.350 --> 00:18:56.790
to help reduce bill impacts that may come in handy.
00:18:56.790 --> 00:19:01.640
So as I mentioned before, please visit sce.com/billhelp
00:19:03.650 --> 00:19:08.600
or call (800) 367-8851
00:19:08.600 --> 00:19:10.623
for information on these resources.
00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:15.810
Again, thank you for taking the time out today and attending
00:19:15.810 --> 00:19:18.773
and I look forward to hearing your comments and feedback.
00:19:22.860 --> 00:19:23.993
Thank you, Mr. Snow.
00:19:27.530 --> 00:19:30.578
We will now hear from the Public Advocates Office's
00:19:30.578 --> 00:19:31.495
Nabu Adlam.
00:19:32.640 --> 00:19:33.890
Mr. Adlam, are you ready?
00:19:34.940 --> 00:19:36.033
Yes, sir, I am.
00:19:37.400 --> 00:19:38.233
Okay.
00:19:38.233 --> 00:19:39.993
I'm gonna go off the record for a second.
00:19:41.380 --> 00:19:44.783
IT, do you have the presentation ready to put up yet?
00:19:51.990 --> 00:19:54.340
I'm right in thinking that Public Advocate's Office
00:19:54.340 --> 00:19:56.210
had slides prepared, right?
00:19:56.210 --> 00:19:57.637
Correct, Mr. Adlam?
00:19:58.517 --> 00:20:01.868
Yes, sir and we did provide a copy to you.
00:20:01.868 --> 00:20:02.701
Okay.
00:20:05.579 --> 00:20:06.412
Here it is.
00:20:06.412 --> 00:20:07.560
I can see it now.
00:20:07.560 --> 00:20:09.850
Okay, tell them when you'd like them
00:20:09.850 --> 00:20:11.803
to switch to the next screen, please.
00:20:12.650 --> 00:20:14.150
Court reporter, are you ready?
00:20:16.494 --> 00:20:18.870
Yes, I'm ready.
00:20:18.870 --> 00:20:22.170
We'll go, sorry, we'll go back on the record.
00:20:22.170 --> 00:20:24.610
Proceed please, Mr. Adlam.
00:20:24.610 --> 00:20:26.970
Hi, good afternoon, everybody.
00:20:26.970 --> 00:20:28.070
I am Nabu Adlam.
00:20:28.070 --> 00:20:30.160
I'm a project lead presenting
00:20:30.160 --> 00:20:33.570
for California Advocates Office.
00:20:33.570 --> 00:20:35.970
I will briefly talk about today
00:20:35.970 --> 00:20:39.050
what is our role in this proceeding
00:20:39.050 --> 00:20:43.180
and why it is important to present consumer voice
00:20:43.180 --> 00:20:44.530
at the Commission.
00:20:44.530 --> 00:20:46.203
So, the next slide, please.
00:20:48.940 --> 00:20:50.730
So let's talk about who we are.
00:20:50.730 --> 00:20:52.470
We are California Public Advocate's Office.
00:20:52.470 --> 00:20:55.280
We're also known as Cal Advocates
00:20:55.280 --> 00:20:58.160
and we are an independent office within CPUC,
00:20:58.160 --> 00:21:00.757
which is California Public Utilities Commission,
00:21:00.757 --> 00:21:03.223
that represents the interest of rate payers.
00:21:04.070 --> 00:21:07.230
We have a multi-disciplinary staff with expertise
00:21:07.230 --> 00:21:10.323
in engineering, economics, accounting, and finance.
00:21:11.394 --> 00:21:14.060
I'd like to emphasize this,
00:21:14.060 --> 00:21:17.160
that Cal Advocates views do not necessarily reflect
00:21:17.160 --> 00:21:19.700
the views of the Commission because, as mentioned,
00:21:19.700 --> 00:21:22.510
we are an independent segment
00:21:22.510 --> 00:21:25.768
within the California Public Utilities Commission
00:21:25.768 --> 00:21:28.590
and our sole purpose is to advocate
00:21:28.590 --> 00:21:30.103
on behalf of our customers.
00:21:31.050 --> 00:21:32.000
Next slide, please.
00:21:34.179 --> 00:21:36.463
Our mission is two-fold.
00:21:37.419 --> 00:21:41.890
If you can see here, it's to obtain the lowest possible rate
00:21:41.890 --> 00:21:46.030
for service consistent with reliable and safe service level.
00:21:46.030 --> 00:21:48.893
As you can imagine, this is a very tight rope to walk.
00:21:49.990 --> 00:21:53.280
We need to balance the lowest rate
00:21:53.280 --> 00:21:56.423
with reliability of water and safety.
00:21:57.340 --> 00:21:58.323
Next slide, please.
00:22:03.270 --> 00:22:06.850
Cal Advocates Office currently is in the process
00:22:06.850 --> 00:22:09.220
of a stage, it's called discovery,
00:22:09.220 --> 00:22:12.230
where we are analyzing SCE's
00:22:13.190 --> 00:22:17.290
file application and asking a lot of data requests
00:22:17.290 --> 00:22:21.850
and figuring out the pertinent details and facts.
00:22:21.850 --> 00:22:25.340
We will present an analysis of the SEC
00:22:25.340 --> 00:22:27.619
Catalina Water Utility and rate increase request
00:22:27.619 --> 00:22:30.500
and make a recommendation on issues considered
00:22:30.500 --> 00:22:33.290
in all general rate cases.
00:22:33.290 --> 00:22:38.020
These issues are mostly such as capital investment
00:22:38.020 --> 00:22:41.640
and need for the utility sales and rate design,
00:22:41.640 --> 00:22:43.990
conservation and operating expenses,
00:22:43.990 --> 00:22:48.030
low income rate assistance, and also tax expenses.
00:22:48.030 --> 00:22:48.980
Next slide, please.
00:22:53.040 --> 00:22:58.040
At the end of our discovery, we will be issuing a report
00:22:58.210 --> 00:23:03.210
and that report will be available after July 9th, 2021
00:23:03.370 --> 00:23:06.693
at our website, which is www.publicadvocates.cpuc.ca.gov.
00:23:11.984 --> 00:23:13.830
Let me repeat that website again.
00:23:13.830 --> 00:23:18.767
It's www.publicadvocates, that's one word,
00:23:18.767 --> 00:23:22.050
.cpuc.ca.gov.
00:23:22.050 --> 00:23:24.480
And I really appreciate this opportunity
00:23:24.480 --> 00:23:27.800
and our main purpose of this Public Participation Hearing
00:23:27.800 --> 00:23:31.430
is to hear and listen to the public voices
00:23:31.430 --> 00:23:32.680
and I'm looking forward to it.
00:23:32.680 --> 00:23:33.733
Thank you very much.
00:23:37.150 --> 00:23:38.693
Thank you, Mr. Adlam.
00:23:39.680 --> 00:23:43.393
We will now hear from the Joint Catalina Parties.
00:23:44.869 --> 00:23:47.580
Mr. Bishton, are you ready to give your presentation?
00:23:47.580 --> 00:23:48.630
Yes, I am.
00:23:49.961 --> 00:23:50.794
Okay.
00:23:50.794 --> 00:23:52.480
And I have a slide presentation
00:23:53.650 --> 00:23:55.120
Great.
00:23:55.120 --> 00:23:56.780
Okay, whenever you're ready.
00:23:56.780 --> 00:23:59.920
Thank you very much, Judge Toy.
00:23:59.920 --> 00:24:03.783
Thank you everyone for attending this web meeting.
00:24:05.360 --> 00:24:07.739
It's not the same as being there in person
00:24:07.739 --> 00:24:11.233
but it's the best we can do under the circumstances.
00:24:12.210 --> 00:24:15.400
The Catalina Parties represent all
00:24:15.400 --> 00:24:19.660
of the classes of rate payers on Catalina Island.
00:24:19.660 --> 00:24:24.210
The City of Avalon is where 95% of the rate payers live.
00:24:25.690 --> 00:24:27.530
The Catalina Island Chamber of Commerce
00:24:27.530 --> 00:24:31.070
represents 220 commercial businesses,
00:24:31.070 --> 00:24:34.160
which is the vast majority of the commercial rate payers
00:24:34.160 --> 00:24:35.720
on the Island.
00:24:35.720 --> 00:24:38.507
The Santa Catalina Island Conservancy is where
00:24:38.507 --> 00:24:42.282
it has 88% of the Island and it's where the vast majority,
00:24:42.282 --> 00:24:47.282
almost all of the water that is not desal water comes from.
00:24:49.000 --> 00:24:53.810
Guidance Discoveries runs three of the eight campgrounds
00:24:53.810 --> 00:24:57.770
and is the representative of all of the campgrounds.
00:24:57.770 --> 00:25:01.520
I skipped, I missed one when I was preparing this slide,
00:25:01.520 --> 00:25:05.530
the Santa Catalina Island Company is also a member
00:25:05.530 --> 00:25:07.290
of the Catalina Parties.
00:25:07.290 --> 00:25:09.600
It has 11% of the Island
00:25:09.600 --> 00:25:13.900
and is a big major business operator on the Island.
00:25:13.900 --> 00:25:17.200
And lastly, Hamilton Cove Homeowners Association
00:25:18.935 --> 00:25:23.935
is the largest condominium association on the Island.
00:25:24.125 --> 00:25:28.590
With 190 residential units,
00:25:28.590 --> 00:25:33.090
it is 13% of all of the residential rate payers
00:25:33.090 --> 00:25:38.020
and it is 6% of all of the commercial connections
00:25:38.020 --> 00:25:41.033
are also located at Hamilton Cove Homeowner's Association.
00:25:43.030 --> 00:25:47.710
I am not new to this and nor are the Catalina Parties.
00:25:47.710 --> 00:25:50.750
They were all involved in the prior rate case,
00:25:50.750 --> 00:25:55.123
which started in 2010 and ended in 2014.
00:25:57.520 --> 00:26:00.190
I personally have been involved.
00:26:00.190 --> 00:26:05.190
I have owned condominiums on Catalina Island since 1988,
00:26:05.610 --> 00:26:07.353
I've been president of the Hamilton Cove
00:26:07.353 --> 00:26:11.960
Homeowners Association since 1998,
00:26:11.960 --> 00:26:14.210
I spent 18 years on the board
00:26:14.210 --> 00:26:17.570
of the Santa Catalina Island Conservancy.
00:26:17.570 --> 00:26:19.820
As a lawyer, I have represented a number
00:26:19.820 --> 00:26:23.970
of the businesses in Catalina, on Catalina Island
00:26:23.970 --> 00:26:25.970
as well as a number of individuals.
00:26:25.970 --> 00:26:29.530
So I personally have an extensive knowledge
00:26:29.530 --> 00:26:31.200
about this problem.
00:26:31.200 --> 00:26:34.160
I also represented the Catalina Parties
00:26:34.160 --> 00:26:36.423
in the prior rate case.
00:26:39.060 --> 00:26:44.060
The Catalina Parties do not represent any individual group.
00:26:44.290 --> 00:26:49.290
It is not a battle between commercial rate payers
00:26:49.370 --> 00:26:51.510
and individual rate payers.
00:26:51.510 --> 00:26:52.900
There is no,
00:26:52.900 --> 00:26:56.130
all of our decisions representing the rate payers
00:26:56.130 --> 00:26:58.970
are made jointly by all the members
00:26:58.970 --> 00:27:02.093
of the Catalina Parties and we meet frequently.
00:27:03.700 --> 00:27:08.420
We are assisted in this procedure by Brian Brady,
00:27:08.420 --> 00:27:12.510
a professional engineer with 35 years
00:27:12.510 --> 00:27:15.550
of engineering and management experience in both the public
00:27:15.550 --> 00:27:19.550
and private sector of western electric and water utilities.
00:27:19.550 --> 00:27:23.510
He was also our expert in the prior GRC
00:27:23.510 --> 00:27:27.040
and early in his career was employed
00:27:27.040 --> 00:27:29.123
by Southern California Edison.
00:27:30.494 --> 00:27:32.860
What are our goals?
00:27:32.860 --> 00:27:35.480
Our goals are adequate and reasonable rates
00:27:35.480 --> 00:27:37.530
without discrimination.
00:27:37.530 --> 00:27:40.410
That has been said by the California Supreme Court
00:27:40.410 --> 00:27:44.321
to be the primary purpose of the Public Utilities Act
00:27:44.321 --> 00:27:48.273
and the Commission.
00:27:49.285 --> 00:27:52.400
The Commission itself says a goal is clean, safe,
00:27:52.400 --> 00:27:55.400
and reliable water at reasonable rates.
00:27:55.400 --> 00:27:57.910
That's what we're trying to do.
00:27:57.910 --> 00:28:02.453
The word reasonable is an important, important word.
00:28:03.490 --> 00:28:06.840
I think we need to start and understand
00:28:06.840 --> 00:28:10.040
where we stand today with today's rates,
00:28:10.040 --> 00:28:13.270
with today's revenue requirement of 4,000,003
00:28:14.860 --> 00:28:19.123
that was established back in 2014 and the prior GRC.
00:28:21.260 --> 00:28:24.280
One way to compare water companies is to look
00:28:24.280 --> 00:28:26.183
at revenue per customer,
00:28:27.520 --> 00:28:29.610
simply taking the number of customers
00:28:29.610 --> 00:28:32.093
and divided in their total annual revenue.
00:28:33.180 --> 00:28:38.180
We are able to obtain that information from annual reports
00:28:39.050 --> 00:28:42.310
that all regulated water companies have to file
00:28:42.310 --> 00:28:44.760
with the Commission every year
00:28:44.760 --> 00:28:47.684
and the last year was 2019.
00:28:47.684 --> 00:28:51.853
2020 reports have not been filed as yet.
00:28:53.610 --> 00:28:56.050
There are four classes of water companies,
00:28:56.050 --> 00:28:58.980
A, B, C, and D.
00:28:58.980 --> 00:29:02.890
A and B are the larger, C is the middle ground,
00:29:02.890 --> 00:29:07.890
and D are probably primarily very small water companies.
00:29:09.120 --> 00:29:13.170
Southern California Edison Water Company is the largest
00:29:13.170 --> 00:29:16.270
of the Class C water companies
00:29:16.270 --> 00:29:21.090
and we try to determine where does its revenue per customer
00:29:21.090 --> 00:29:22.853
stand relative to others.
00:29:24.560 --> 00:29:25.820
May I have the next slide?
00:29:25.820 --> 00:29:28.220
I'm sorry, I haven't been calling for my slides.
00:29:30.140 --> 00:29:31.113
Next one, please.
00:29:33.543 --> 00:29:34.703
One more.
00:29:38.200 --> 00:29:39.033
One more.
00:29:44.681 --> 00:29:49.681
The average, these are the 10 largest of the Class Cs,
00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:51.840
there's 19.
00:29:51.840 --> 00:29:55.640
The average annual revenue per customer
00:29:56.571 --> 00:30:01.571
of the 10 largest Class C is $992 or $83 a month.
00:30:06.240 --> 00:30:11.240
Edison is 1,822 currently, currently.
00:30:11.910 --> 00:30:16.230
It's 184% higher revenue per customer
00:30:17.890 --> 00:30:20.380
than any other Class C water.
00:30:20.380 --> 00:30:22.670
We are already paying Edison.
00:30:22.670 --> 00:30:26.860
On Catalina Island has the highest water rates.
00:30:26.860 --> 00:30:30.057
I've been advised by Mr. Brady that it's
00:30:30.057 --> 00:30:33.900
also a higher per customer than any A or B,
00:30:33.900 --> 00:30:35.250
Class A or Class B.
00:30:35.250 --> 00:30:39.990
So we start with the highest possible rates
00:30:41.450 --> 00:30:45.023
or highest existing rates in the state of California.
00:30:46.310 --> 00:30:50.380
As * outlined, there are really two different plans
00:30:50.380 --> 00:30:53.323
being put forth by Edison.
00:30:54.220 --> 00:30:56.790
I'll call the first one Plan A.
00:30:56.790 --> 00:30:58.490
Can I have the next slide, please?
00:31:02.890 --> 00:31:07.890
Plan A proposes that 30 million of past costs,
00:31:09.840 --> 00:31:13.150
not anything going forward but past costs,
00:31:13.150 --> 00:31:16.053
be passed on to its electric rate payers.
00:31:18.661 --> 00:31:22.380
If that were the case, the revenue requirement,
00:31:22.380 --> 00:31:24.750
the amount of money that they will collect,
00:31:24.750 --> 00:31:27.010
Edison would collect in rates in the first year
00:31:27.010 --> 00:31:32.010
would be 5,314,000 and in year five 10,049,000,
00:31:34.210 --> 00:31:37.500
which is a huge, huge increase
00:31:37.500 --> 00:31:41.703
from where we are today at 4,000,003.
00:31:42.930 --> 00:31:47.700
What it means is revenue per customer
00:31:47.700 --> 00:31:52.413
would be $2,668 per year or $222 a month
00:31:55.878 --> 00:31:57.987
and the fifth year would be 5,005,045
00:32:00.650 --> 00:32:03.263
per year or $420 a month.
00:32:05.040 --> 00:32:09.252
Looking at current rates paid by Class C customers
00:32:09.252 --> 00:32:14.252
as an average, in the first year will be 269% of that
00:32:14.580 --> 00:32:18.580
and then the fifth year would be 590%.
00:32:18.580 --> 00:32:23.580
Or in other words, billed at currently is $78.84
00:32:26.980 --> 00:32:29.900
for a residential customer who uses
00:32:29.900 --> 00:32:34.353
just the minimum of the first tier of water, 2000 gallons.
00:32:36.090 --> 00:32:41.090
It jumped to $110.30 a month for the first year
00:32:41.260 --> 00:32:45.970
and then by the year five, it would be $208.60,
00:32:45.970 --> 00:32:47.130
huge increases.
00:32:47.130 --> 00:32:48.713
Can I have the next slide?
00:32:52.890 --> 00:32:55.040
The other proposal assumes that none
00:32:55.040 --> 00:32:59.600
of those 30 million is passed on to electric rate payers.
00:32:59.600 --> 00:33:03.947
And two of the participants today, California Advocates
00:33:03.947 --> 00:33:07.740
and TURN, have already stated strong positions
00:33:07.740 --> 00:33:10.090
against passing anything,
00:33:10.090 --> 00:33:14.602
any money to the electric rate payers.
00:33:14.602 --> 00:33:18.080
So this is a very, very real dance
00:33:19.390 --> 00:33:20.883
that isn't going to happen.
00:33:22.675 --> 00:33:25.630
In year one, the revenue requirement would be 5,771,000,
00:33:26.800 --> 00:33:31.080
according to Plan B, jumping to 22 million
00:33:34.590 --> 00:33:37.713
in year five, incredible increase.
00:33:38.960 --> 00:33:43.960
It would go, as a comparison of revenue per customer,
00:33:44.410 --> 00:33:49.410
that the first year to 292% of what Class C
00:33:51.680 --> 00:33:54.780
customers revenue is currently
00:33:54.780 --> 00:33:59.780
and to 1113% of what it is for Class C customers today.
00:34:02.140 --> 00:34:04.160
What would it mean for a residential bill
00:34:04.160 --> 00:34:06.840
that is currently about $74?
00:34:06.840 --> 00:34:09.970
The first year would be about $110.
00:34:09.970 --> 00:34:14.970
And then the fifth year, $456 a month.
00:34:15.877 --> 00:34:20.877
$456 a month for someone using 2000 gallons of water.
00:34:21.627 --> 00:34:23.363
Can I have the next slide, please?
00:34:31.240 --> 00:34:32.233
Next slide, please.
00:34:38.980 --> 00:34:41.800
Let's go off the record for a second.
00:34:41.800 --> 00:34:45.363
IT, are you there to change the slide?
00:34:51.170 --> 00:34:52.400
Yes, your honor.
00:34:52.400 --> 00:34:54.831
We'll go ahead and change the slide.
00:34:54.831 --> 00:34:57.240
Our slide person just got dropped.
00:34:57.240 --> 00:35:00.496
Oh, okay.
00:35:00.496 --> 00:35:02.010
Court reporter ready?
00:35:02.010 --> 00:35:03.930
Oh, hold on Mr. Bishton.
00:35:03.930 --> 00:35:04.980
Court reporter ready?
00:35:10.539 --> 00:35:13.305
(woman speaking muffled)
00:35:13.305 --> 00:35:15.030
You can continue, Mr. Christian.
00:35:15.030 --> 00:35:17.920
I want to commend Judge Toy for his summary
00:35:17.920 --> 00:35:20.910
of the proposals that Edison has put forth
00:35:22.490 --> 00:35:25.733
because it is so different and it was so different
00:35:25.733 --> 00:35:28.450
than the proposals that were outlined
00:35:28.450 --> 00:35:30.930
in the notice that went to all rate payers.
00:35:30.930 --> 00:35:33.120
There is no way that
00:35:33.120 --> 00:35:37.580
that is in any way informed rate payers
00:35:37.580 --> 00:35:39.973
of what the impacts are going to be.
00:35:41.580 --> 00:35:46.210
One of the things that the notice used was assuming
00:35:46.210 --> 00:35:51.210
that the average residential user uses 1,466 gallons
00:35:52.110 --> 00:35:52.943
per month.
00:35:55.004 --> 00:35:56.810
I just wanna explain what that means.
00:35:56.810 --> 00:36:01.307
That means 47 gallons a day for a family.
00:36:03.760 --> 00:36:07.493
The capacity of a standard bathtub is 42 gallons.
00:36:08.360 --> 00:36:11.850
This means that a four-person household would use 12 gallons
00:36:11.850 --> 00:36:14.136
per person per day.
00:36:14.136 --> 00:36:16.540
The average residential water use
00:36:16.540 --> 00:36:20.580
in California is 85 gallons per person per day.
00:36:20.580 --> 00:36:22.683
And that obviously it's a little different
00:36:22.683 --> 00:36:25.470
than on Catalina Island because of the use
00:36:25.470 --> 00:36:27.870
of salt water to flush toilets.
00:36:27.870 --> 00:36:31.450
That is not in any way representative
00:36:31.450 --> 00:36:35.833
of what a family of two or three or four would use,
00:36:37.456 --> 00:36:40.283
it's totally misleading.
00:36:41.180 --> 00:36:43.750
The reason, one of the reasons that things are
00:36:45.140 --> 00:36:47.870
difficult to put averages on Catalina Island
00:36:47.870 --> 00:36:52.870
is a lot of the 190 units at Hamilton Cove,
00:36:52.930 --> 00:36:55.960
as an example, 13% of the residences,
00:36:55.960 --> 00:36:59.133
only 20 are occupied full-time.
00:37:00.420 --> 00:37:03.180
A lot of them are used during the summer months,
00:37:03.180 --> 00:37:05.090
but they stand idle.
00:37:05.090 --> 00:37:10.090
So the overall use of the people actually using water
00:37:10.170 --> 00:37:13.730
in Hamilton Cove is 30 or 35%
00:37:13.730 --> 00:37:17.944
of the available days that people could be using water.
00:37:17.944 --> 00:37:21.180
And that's true also in the main part of Avalon.
00:37:21.180 --> 00:37:24.950
There are many places that are not occupied year-round
00:37:24.950 --> 00:37:28.103
so that any kind of averages are very distorting.
00:37:31.444 --> 00:37:34.350
I wanna go to the second, next slide, please.
00:37:39.410 --> 00:37:42.990
One of the things that Edison is asking
00:37:42.990 --> 00:37:47.990
for in this rate case, I found somewhat distressing.
00:37:49.820 --> 00:37:51.790
During the drought, Catalina rate payers
00:37:51.790 --> 00:37:54.303
reduced water usage by 40%.
00:37:57.993 --> 00:38:02.993
The Governor's goal during the drought was 25%.
00:38:03.960 --> 00:38:08.960
Catalina rate payers stood up and reduced water by 40%.
00:38:10.520 --> 00:38:14.050
Plan B requires the Catalina rate payers
00:38:14.050 --> 00:38:17.920
to pay $6 million plus $500 million
00:38:17.920 --> 00:38:21.563
in interest for the water they did not use.
00:38:24.150 --> 00:38:28.023
Plus an additional 5 million in drought-related costs.
00:38:29.430 --> 00:38:33.170
In other words, Catalina rate payers would be much better
00:38:33.170 --> 00:38:37.057
off using the water there instead of not using it
00:38:37.057 --> 00:38:41.430
and now having to pay for it with interest.
00:38:41.430 --> 00:38:45.810
I mean, it's just an incredible disincentive
00:38:45.810 --> 00:38:48.543
to save water during the case of a drought.
00:38:51.730 --> 00:38:53.190
Thanks a lot.
Mr. Bishton,
00:38:53.190 --> 00:38:54.210
this is the ALJ,
00:38:54.210 --> 00:38:55.908
please try to wrap up.
00:38:55.908 --> 00:38:58.020
I have one more slide.
A little bit over time.
00:38:58.020 --> 00:38:59.458
Okay.
00:38:59.458 --> 00:39:02.253
What we are concerned with is water burden,
00:39:04.100 --> 00:39:06.950
total amount people are going to have to pay for water.
00:39:06.950 --> 00:39:10.120
The average household income in California,
00:39:10.120 --> 00:39:15.120
according to the US Census Bureau, is $106,916.
00:39:15.460 --> 00:39:19.050
The average household income of Catalina Island,
00:39:19.050 --> 00:39:23.813
according to SCE is $61,655 annually.
00:39:24.810 --> 00:39:29.590
How can they pay $456 a month?
00:39:29.590 --> 00:39:34.590
The residents of Catalina Island, $456 a month for water.
00:39:36.130 --> 00:39:38.070
I thank everyone for their attention
00:39:38.070 --> 00:39:40.133
and I thank your honor.
00:39:43.930 --> 00:39:45.563
Thank you, Mr. Bishton.
00:39:47.290 --> 00:39:50.710
At this point in time, I do not believe the TURN
00:39:50.710 --> 00:39:53.400
representative is on the line
00:39:55.303 --> 00:39:57.293
so we will continue on for now.
00:40:00.640 --> 00:40:04.080
Can I please get a count from the operator,
00:40:04.080 --> 00:40:05.580
how many callers are in queue?
00:40:10.240 --> 00:40:12.370
Your honor, this is Robert Stanford.
00:40:12.370 --> 00:40:15.823
We currently have eight public commenters in the queue.
00:40:17.610 --> 00:40:18.443
Thank you.
00:40:20.070 --> 00:40:23.210
We will now hear from members of the public.
00:40:23.210 --> 00:40:25.100
To those who wish to speak,
00:40:25.100 --> 00:40:27.810
if you have not done so already,
00:40:27.810 --> 00:40:30.890
please press star one on your phone
00:40:30.890 --> 00:40:34.013
and the operator will add you to the queue of speakers.
00:40:35.230 --> 00:40:36.620
If you're not currently queued,
00:40:36.620 --> 00:40:40.510
at any time during the session and you later
00:40:40.510 --> 00:40:42.770
on decide you would like to speak,
00:40:42.770 --> 00:40:45.213
the line will remain open for you to join.
00:40:46.560 --> 00:40:49.413
Provide the operator with your name and location.
00:40:50.350 --> 00:40:53.130
If you are a public official, please notify the operator
00:40:53.130 --> 00:40:56.883
of your title and position in addition to your name.
00:41:01.720 --> 00:41:04.620
A reminder to those waiting on the phone,
00:41:04.620 --> 00:41:07.530
please speak slowly and clearly so
00:41:07.530 --> 00:41:10.360
that our court reporters may accurately transcribe
00:41:10.360 --> 00:41:11.193
your comments.
00:41:12.500 --> 00:41:15.940
When the operator lets you know, it is your turn to speak.
00:41:15.940 --> 00:41:19.113
Please start your comments by providing your full name,
00:41:20.090 --> 00:41:23.223
spelling your last name, and your location.
00:41:24.940 --> 00:41:27.240
We will be able to hear you best,
00:41:27.240 --> 00:41:30.980
if you speak directly into your phone or headset.
00:41:30.980 --> 00:41:33.780
Please avoid having your phone on speaker
00:41:33.780 --> 00:41:35.330
when you're providing comments.
00:41:38.240 --> 00:41:39.430
Hang on, off the record.
00:41:39.430 --> 00:41:43.073
Could everyone else on the line, please mute?
00:41:47.480 --> 00:41:48.430
Back on the record.
00:41:51.800 --> 00:41:54.380
Please keep comments brief and concise
00:41:54.380 --> 00:41:56.693
in order to ensure we can hear everyone.
00:41:59.610 --> 00:42:02.360
Operator, are there any public officials on the line?
00:42:05.750 --> 00:42:07.773
Not that I can tell, no.
00:42:09.970 --> 00:42:10.803
Thank you.
00:42:12.020 --> 00:42:14.920
Please go ahead and call on the first person in the queue.
00:42:16.030 --> 00:42:16.863
Thank you.
00:42:17.750 --> 00:42:20.690
Our first speaker is Geraldine Knatz.
00:42:20.690 --> 00:42:21.823
Your line is open.
00:42:23.130 --> 00:42:24.340
Thank you.
00:42:24.340 --> 00:42:29.040
My name is Geraldine Knatz, K-N-A-T-Z
00:42:29.040 --> 00:42:33.000
and I own a home in Avalon, 383 East Whitley,
00:42:33.000 --> 00:42:35.760
where there are three three-story townhomes
00:42:35.760 --> 00:42:39.520
built on one lot in 1976.
00:42:39.520 --> 00:42:41.990
The bottom story of my unit was never finished
00:42:41.990 --> 00:42:45.000
and has a dirt floor and I have permits to construct
00:42:45.000 --> 00:42:47.650
from the city but I'm on hold due
00:42:47.650 --> 00:42:50.810
to requiring a water allotment from Edison
00:42:50.810 --> 00:42:54.630
and I had been on the water allotment list for years.
00:42:54.630 --> 00:42:57.880
I request the PUC not take any action
00:42:57.880 --> 00:43:01.000
to approve any increases in water rates
00:43:01.000 --> 00:43:04.020
without clearing the water allotment list.
00:43:04.020 --> 00:43:06.970
That is allowing the people who have been waiting
00:43:06.970 --> 00:43:10.470
for water to receive their allotment.
00:43:10.470 --> 00:43:14.130
The water allotment issue lacks transparency.
00:43:14.130 --> 00:43:17.160
At one point I was told once the reservoir fills,
00:43:17.160 --> 00:43:18.720
water will be released,
00:43:18.720 --> 00:43:21.520
then lifting the mandatory drought requirements.
00:43:21.520 --> 00:43:24.890
Another time it was after testing of some wells.
00:43:24.890 --> 00:43:27.550
Edison seems to be moving the goalposts,
00:43:27.550 --> 00:43:30.560
finding any excuse to block improvement.
00:43:30.560 --> 00:43:34.510
There's no clear pathway to seeking a water allotment
00:43:34.510 --> 00:43:35.650
and I believe this lack
00:43:35.650 --> 00:43:39.373
of transparency is inappropriate for a public resource.
00:43:40.590 --> 00:43:45.190
I'll conclude by saying that this is
00:43:45.190 --> 00:43:49.570
very frustrating considering my house was built in '76.
00:43:49.570 --> 00:43:51.700
I assume the water needs are considered
00:43:51.700 --> 00:43:54.000
and it's quite ironic I'm adding a bathroom
00:43:54.000 --> 00:43:55.890
that flushes with salt water.
00:43:55.890 --> 00:43:58.400
Again, please do not move forward
00:43:58.400 --> 00:44:01.560
without clearing the water allotment list.
00:44:01.560 --> 00:44:02.393
Thank you.
00:44:05.320 --> 00:44:06.380
Thank you Ms. Knatz.
00:44:06.380 --> 00:44:07.213
Operator.
00:44:09.650 --> 00:44:11.140
Our next speaker
00:44:11.140 --> 00:44:13.290
is Council Member, Lisa Lavelle.
00:44:13.290 --> 00:44:14.363
Your line is open.
00:44:16.380 --> 00:44:17.213
Thank you.
00:44:17.213 --> 00:44:20.370
City council member Lisa Lavelle from the City of Avalon.
00:44:20.370 --> 00:44:23.020
Judge, I appreciate your time today and appreciate all
00:44:23.020 --> 00:44:26.563
of the parties presenting the details of the case.
00:44:27.520 --> 00:44:31.560
As a nearly lifelong resident of Catalina,
00:44:31.560 --> 00:44:34.930
I remember the last rate increase case
00:44:34.930 --> 00:44:37.292
and having to go before the judge
00:44:37.292 --> 00:44:40.730
at the meeting location in town
00:44:40.730 --> 00:44:44.500
and discuss how the rate increase would equal the cost
00:44:44.500 --> 00:44:48.180
of my dad's medication that he was required
00:44:48.180 --> 00:44:50.493
to take at the time on a monthly basis.
00:44:52.010 --> 00:44:53.470
He has since passed away
00:44:53.470 --> 00:44:55.285
so it's just my mom and I in the house now
00:44:55.285 --> 00:45:00.285
and the average rate volume that Edison is quoting,
00:45:01.740 --> 00:45:04.050
it seems like it is quite off.
00:45:04.050 --> 00:45:07.400
We are only two people and have a fairly small home
00:45:07.400 --> 00:45:10.970
and our water rates are 10 to $15 per month,
00:45:10.970 --> 00:45:12.900
on average, already above what they're listing
00:45:12.900 --> 00:45:16.340
as their average family household water rate.
00:45:16.340 --> 00:45:18.840
The majority of households in Avalon tend
00:45:18.840 --> 00:45:21.200
to have more than that many people living in them.
00:45:21.200 --> 00:45:22.300
And I'm thinking specifically
00:45:22.300 --> 00:45:25.823
of the families that call the City of Avalon home,
00:45:26.940 --> 00:45:30.570
an increase of anywhere from 147%
00:45:30.570 --> 00:45:33.980
to potentially 400, 500 or 600%,
00:45:33.980 --> 00:45:38.980
depending on what type of a water main you have
00:45:39.130 --> 00:45:42.690
in your home or business, is not sustainable.
00:45:42.690 --> 00:45:44.850
There is no way that our family could afford
00:45:44.850 --> 00:45:49.243
to pay two to $300 a month just for water.
00:45:49.243 --> 00:45:50.720
That doesn't include rent,
00:45:50.720 --> 00:45:53.300
that doesn't include other utilities,
00:45:53.300 --> 00:45:55.240
that's just for water.
00:45:55.240 --> 00:45:57.810
I think that it is time to get
00:45:57.810 --> 00:46:00.370
on an even keel plan with Edison
00:46:00.370 --> 00:46:03.390
so that moving forward there's regular increases
00:46:03.390 --> 00:46:04.780
that are sustainable,
00:46:04.780 --> 00:46:07.650
that happen in conjunction with the cost of living
00:46:07.650 --> 00:46:10.730
and conjunction with the cost of projects for the future.
00:46:10.730 --> 00:46:13.356
It's very challenging to accept the idea
00:46:13.356 --> 00:46:15.840
of having to go back and pay
00:46:15.840 --> 00:46:18.421
for things that have already been done and approved
00:46:18.421 --> 00:46:23.300
and pay for things that were not the fault of our citizens.
00:46:23.300 --> 00:46:25.730
Repeatedly, the citizens of Avalon are asked
00:46:25.730 --> 00:46:28.320
to conserve water, they do so,
00:46:28.320 --> 00:46:32.060
usually exceeding expectations of any state or board,
00:46:32.060 --> 00:46:35.780
and then are damaged in financial ways
00:46:35.780 --> 00:46:38.240
for having conserved that much water.
00:46:38.240 --> 00:46:40.680
I don't know of any business that would be able
00:46:40.680 --> 00:46:42.560
to cut services and then go back
00:46:42.560 --> 00:46:45.400
and charge people more because they cut services.
00:46:45.400 --> 00:46:47.200
It doesn't make sense to me.
00:46:47.200 --> 00:46:49.630
And I'm hoping that you will err on the side
00:46:49.630 --> 00:46:53.210
of caution when looking at this rate case.
00:46:53.210 --> 00:46:57.190
I understand both the Cal Advocate and TURN's concerns
00:46:57.190 --> 00:47:00.200
with regards to charging funds to people who don't live
00:47:00.200 --> 00:47:01.360
on the Island.
00:47:01.360 --> 00:47:04.550
But I also understand that the inordinate amount
00:47:04.550 --> 00:47:06.870
of money requested by Edison for some
00:47:06.870 --> 00:47:09.830
of these projects will literally put people
00:47:09.830 --> 00:47:12.313
out of businesses and potentially out of homes.
00:47:13.460 --> 00:47:14.860
We are not a rich community,
00:47:14.860 --> 00:47:16.980
contrary to what most people believe.
00:47:16.980 --> 00:47:19.610
The majority of our citizens work two to three jobs
00:47:19.610 --> 00:47:22.520
to make ends meet and have multi-generational families
00:47:22.520 --> 00:47:24.150
living in their home.
00:47:24.150 --> 00:47:26.070
We would ask that you just please be considerate
00:47:26.070 --> 00:47:30.090
in remembering that we are definitely
00:47:30.090 --> 00:47:33.053
not a community that can afford this kind of charge.
00:47:34.010 --> 00:47:37.190
I would also ask that you consider judge, if possible,
00:47:37.190 --> 00:47:39.670
the opportunity to have an additional public comment
00:47:39.670 --> 00:47:43.690
period that is not during the height of the tourism season.
00:47:43.690 --> 00:47:46.590
Although COVID-19 has negatively impacted the Island
00:47:46.590 --> 00:47:49.430
in the last year significantly, to the point where
00:47:49.430 --> 00:47:52.880
over 70% of our workers were out of work,
00:47:52.880 --> 00:47:55.253
on unemployment, or unable to gather funds,
00:47:56.320 --> 00:48:00.140
we are now luckily reopening slowly and safely.
00:48:00.140 --> 00:48:02.280
But this happens to be the busiest week of the year
00:48:02.280 --> 00:48:05.560
for us in the last probably 18 months.
00:48:05.560 --> 00:48:09.670
If it is possible to have another session sometime
00:48:09.670 --> 00:48:12.070
in between the middle of April
00:48:12.070 --> 00:48:14.200
and the beginning of June
00:48:14.200 --> 00:48:16.720
so that people can be properly notified
00:48:16.720 --> 00:48:18.520
via mail from Edison,
00:48:18.520 --> 00:48:21.520
can be able to ask for time off of work,
00:48:21.520 --> 00:48:23.850
and can be available for additional public comment,
00:48:23.850 --> 00:48:25.443
we would greatly appreciate it.
00:48:26.470 --> 00:48:30.420
The Edison notice that went out to rate payers
00:48:30.420 --> 00:48:34.170
for notification was sent on the 23rd of March,
00:48:34.170 --> 00:48:36.310
which was seven days ago.
00:48:36.310 --> 00:48:39.160
We live on Catalina and unfortunately the mail rates
00:48:39.160 --> 00:48:41.405
have slowed down significantly.
00:48:41.405 --> 00:48:44.320
We're rate payers and have still not received a notice
00:48:44.320 --> 00:48:46.860
that we could do public comment today.
00:48:46.860 --> 00:48:50.130
So I'm hoping that you'll consider providing a larger window
00:48:50.130 --> 00:48:53.250
for notification and an additional public comment period
00:48:53.250 --> 00:48:55.220
in the next one to two months.
00:48:55.220 --> 00:48:56.173
Thank you so much.
00:48:59.880 --> 00:49:00.713
Thank you.
00:49:00.713 --> 00:49:02.520
Miss Lavelle, could you please spell your last name
00:49:02.520 --> 00:49:04.350
for our court reporter?
00:49:04.350 --> 00:49:07.040
Sure, L-A-V, as in Victor,
00:49:07.040 --> 00:49:08.423
E-L-L-E.
00:49:09.550 --> 00:49:11.360
Great, thank you.
00:49:11.360 --> 00:49:12.310
Thank you.
00:49:15.330 --> 00:49:18.480
Operator, could you please call in the next caller?
00:49:18.480 --> 00:49:21.510
Yes, our next speaker is Matthew Affolder.
00:49:21.510 --> 00:49:22.703
Your line is open.
00:49:26.200 --> 00:49:28.130
Hi, my name is Matthew Affolder
00:49:28.130 --> 00:49:30.590
and I'm a small business owner in Avalon.
00:49:30.590 --> 00:49:35.590
My last name is spelled A-F-F-O-L-D-E-R.
00:49:37.560 --> 00:49:40.380
I wanted to thank everyone that's come to the table.
00:49:40.380 --> 00:49:41.790
I don't have a slide show
00:49:41.790 --> 00:49:43.520
but I do have firsthand experience
00:49:43.520 --> 00:49:46.330
on how the water rates affect myself,
00:49:46.330 --> 00:49:47.923
my employees, and my family.
00:49:48.800 --> 00:49:50.910
I'd like to say three simple things though
00:49:50.910 --> 00:49:52.970
before I tell my story.
00:49:52.970 --> 00:49:56.160
Number one, we already pay some of the highest,
00:49:56.160 --> 00:49:58.573
if not the highest water rates in the state.
00:49:59.970 --> 00:50:04.490
An additional rate increase will destroy my company
00:50:04.490 --> 00:50:05.913
and the jobs that I provide.
00:50:07.170 --> 00:50:09.740
This rate increase will deprive the residents
00:50:09.740 --> 00:50:12.453
and visitors of the Island from essential services.
00:50:14.070 --> 00:50:16.300
I run Cottonwood Laundromat.
00:50:16.300 --> 00:50:18.090
As a laundromat, we use more water
00:50:18.090 --> 00:50:20.300
than almost any other company.
00:50:20.300 --> 00:50:24.430
This makes our profit margin tied to the water rate.
00:50:24.430 --> 00:50:27.430
We really only have two laundromats left on the Island
00:50:27.430 --> 00:50:29.730
and our population cannot go anywhere else
00:50:29.730 --> 00:50:33.220
to do their laundry, it must be done here.
00:50:33.220 --> 00:50:35.290
If this rate increase passes,
00:50:35.290 --> 00:50:38.490
it will kill small business and deprive residents
00:50:38.490 --> 00:50:40.240
and visitors of essential services.
00:50:41.370 --> 00:50:43.440
Let me mince no words,
00:50:43.440 --> 00:50:46.500
this new rate increase will destroy my company
00:50:46.500 --> 00:50:48.210
and my livelihood.
00:50:48.210 --> 00:50:49.860
This will deprive me of my investment,
00:50:49.860 --> 00:50:53.060
my hard work, and the good will that I've fostered
00:50:53.060 --> 00:50:56.270
in the community through providing these types of services.
00:50:56.270 --> 00:50:58.770
We survive COVID through hard work,
00:50:58.770 --> 00:51:00.484
we're keeping the same levels going.
00:51:00.484 --> 00:51:04.350
We've worked with the drought to reduce when we had to.
00:51:04.350 --> 00:51:08.180
We worked hard to survive the latest rate increase.
00:51:08.180 --> 00:51:11.840
We had to raise our prices 15%,
00:51:11.840 --> 00:51:14.593
even though our water rate has almost doubled recently.
00:51:15.760 --> 00:51:17.730
The last rate increase made it so that
00:51:17.730 --> 00:51:19.840
in some months I lose money.
00:51:19.840 --> 00:51:22.210
I used to make profit every month,
00:51:22.210 --> 00:51:25.890
now I only make profits about half the months.
00:51:25.890 --> 00:51:28.420
This increase has reduced my actual net profits
00:51:28.420 --> 00:51:30.820
by around 50%.
00:51:30.820 --> 00:51:33.110
This means I can not buy new equipment,
00:51:33.110 --> 00:51:35.430
I can not put money back into the company,
00:51:35.430 --> 00:51:37.560
I cannot hire local help,
00:51:37.560 --> 00:51:39.980
I cannot do what I need to do to keep the company
00:51:39.980 --> 00:51:41.743
running on such small profits.
00:51:42.800 --> 00:51:45.160
The recent rate increases have already put us
00:51:45.160 --> 00:51:46.460
in this difficult position
00:51:47.720 --> 00:51:51.200
so I can tell, without a doubt,
00:51:51.200 --> 00:51:56.200
that I nor my customers can afford a new rate increase.
00:51:56.670 --> 00:51:59.180
It's not the difficulty of paying the bill.
00:51:59.180 --> 00:52:01.160
The difficulty comes from having my profit
00:52:01.160 --> 00:52:03.240
and livelihood destroyed.
00:52:03.240 --> 00:52:05.570
If the Commission approves this rate increase,
00:52:05.570 --> 00:52:08.840
I want them to be painfully aware that they are signing the
00:52:08.840 --> 00:52:12.650
death warrant for my and many other companies on Catalina.
00:52:12.650 --> 00:52:15.900
This is jobs, this is essential services,
00:52:15.900 --> 00:52:18.080
these are small businesses.
00:52:18.080 --> 00:52:19.870
And the last thing I would like to say is there's
00:52:19.870 --> 00:52:22.010
nothing reasonable or logical
00:52:22.010 --> 00:52:26.220
about destroying jobs and regulating small businesses
00:52:26.220 --> 00:52:27.193
out of business.
00:52:28.140 --> 00:52:30.373
I thank everyone for their time here today.
00:52:34.770 --> 00:52:36.120
Thank you, Mr. Offholder.
00:52:37.110 --> 00:52:39.410
Operator, can you please call the next caller?
00:52:42.200 --> 00:52:44.150
Next is a Kyle Frievalt.
00:52:44.150 --> 00:52:45.613
Your line is open.
00:52:47.410 --> 00:52:48.700
Good afternoon, everybody.
00:52:48.700 --> 00:52:50.350
My name is Kyle Frievalt.
00:52:50.350 --> 00:52:55.350
Last name is F-R-I-E-V, like Victor, A-L-T.
00:52:58.070 --> 00:53:00.010
I'm here to voice my comment as no,
00:53:00.010 --> 00:53:02.370
I do not support this move by SCE
00:53:02.370 --> 00:53:04.820
and here are some of the reasons why.
00:53:04.820 --> 00:53:07.247
California is already among the most expensive
00:53:07.247 --> 00:53:10.970
electrical utilities in the entire country,
00:53:10.970 --> 00:53:14.307
according to the statistics studies in 2020.
00:53:14.307 --> 00:53:19.180
SCE, during the year 2020, made $13.6 billion
00:53:19.180 --> 00:53:23.610
in revenue and a net profit income of $942,
00:53:23.610 --> 00:53:26.713
sorry $942 million in 2020.
00:53:28.072 --> 00:53:33.072
And the year prior to that was $12.4 billion in revenue.
00:53:34.280 --> 00:53:38.763
Right now, oh, I'm sorry, I lost myself.
00:53:39.810 --> 00:53:42.300
I believe that the rate increase is far too much
00:53:42.300 --> 00:53:45.560
to ask of an already impossibly high rate,
00:53:45.560 --> 00:53:48.050
especially with the rate inflation today
00:53:48.050 --> 00:53:52.390
and the rate inflation sprouting from a global pandemic,
00:53:52.390 --> 00:53:56.013
especially asking this in the midst of a global pandemic.
00:53:56.900 --> 00:53:58.980
Having to request government aid,
00:53:58.980 --> 00:54:01.220
which is the SCE's Care Program,
00:54:01.220 --> 00:54:03.660
just to make an affordable utility bill
00:54:03.660 --> 00:54:05.483
I think is completely out of line.
00:54:06.770 --> 00:54:09.020
I would like to conclude that SCE is
00:54:09.020 --> 00:54:11.220
in fact a monopoly industry operating
00:54:11.220 --> 00:54:13.500
in the Southern California area
00:54:13.500 --> 00:54:16.383
that no other utility company touches.
00:54:17.240 --> 00:54:19.610
Instead of asking struggling customers,
00:54:19.610 --> 00:54:24.610
especially during a pandemic for 153% rate increase
00:54:24.750 --> 00:54:29.650
with inaccurate $78 a month for summer rates,
00:54:29.650 --> 00:54:32.093
which is the normal rate is about 130,
00:54:33.000 --> 00:54:34.750
I believe that the rate increase is not
00:54:34.750 --> 00:54:39.610
by any means reasonable and you will run people
00:54:39.610 --> 00:54:41.040
out of Southern California,
00:54:41.040 --> 00:54:44.803
especially in businesses and small-owned businesses.
00:54:46.400 --> 00:54:48.840
And I thank everybody for their time today
00:54:48.840 --> 00:54:50.460
and especially the counselor
00:54:50.460 --> 00:54:52.600
and the previous person before me.
00:54:52.600 --> 00:54:53.650
Have a wonderful day.
00:54:56.130 --> 00:54:57.430
Thank you, Mr. Frievalt.
00:54:58.380 --> 00:55:01.073
Operator, could you please call the next caller?
00:55:01.980 --> 00:55:05.200
That is Diana Lee Luxenberg.
00:55:05.200 --> 00:55:06.773
Your line is open.
00:55:07.740 --> 00:55:09.000
Thank you.
00:55:09.000 --> 00:55:11.840
My full name, Diana Lee Luxenberg.
00:55:11.840 --> 00:55:16.840
My last name is spelled L-U-X-E-N, like Nancy,
00:55:17.640 --> 00:55:20.463
B, like boy, E-R-G.
00:55:21.610 --> 00:55:25.800
I'd like to start off with stating that Edison has,
00:55:25.800 --> 00:55:28.580
over the years, given their employees
00:55:29.640 --> 00:55:34.640
and their heads incredible and unprecedented,
00:55:36.830 --> 00:55:41.210
in my mind, benefits without providing
00:55:41.210 --> 00:55:43.103
an increase in service.
00:55:44.020 --> 00:55:46.280
I've seen no improvement over the years
00:55:46.280 --> 00:55:48.353
in Three Rivers, where I live.
00:55:49.400 --> 00:55:52.600
We are also a small water district
00:55:52.600 --> 00:55:54.363
and I would say that,
00:55:55.770 --> 00:56:00.770
in contrast to what Catalina people are saying,
00:56:00.850 --> 00:56:05.140
small water districts are usually more expensive
00:56:05.140 --> 00:56:08.460
and should be because they're not being efficient
00:56:08.460 --> 00:56:10.220
with their funds.
00:56:10.220 --> 00:56:12.690
And they remain small because they don't think
00:56:12.690 --> 00:56:16.210
about combining with other water districts,
00:56:16.210 --> 00:56:19.090
which would decrease their rates
00:56:20.010 --> 00:56:23.960
and allow them to invest in better equipment.
00:56:23.960 --> 00:56:28.633
So to a certain extent, Catalina, over the years,
00:56:29.520 --> 00:56:34.520
by not requiring Edison to invest more,
00:56:37.630 --> 00:56:40.783
to a certain extent, have shot themselves in the foot.
00:56:42.410 --> 00:56:46.680
On the other hand, Edison is constantly asking
00:56:46.680 --> 00:56:51.090
for more money and constantly not doing the job
00:56:51.090 --> 00:56:56.090
that they should be doing for drought management,
00:56:56.170 --> 00:56:58.110
such as cutting down trees
00:56:59.140 --> 00:57:03.630
so that there's less trees drawing on the reduced water
00:57:05.490 --> 00:57:10.490
and other things that help mitigate some
00:57:10.610 --> 00:57:12.683
of the disasters that we've had.
00:57:13.730 --> 00:57:18.730
I'd also like to ask why they're not considering bonds
00:57:22.210 --> 00:57:25.060
over 10 or 20 years when rates are
00:57:25.060 --> 00:57:30.060
at a historic low for some of these building improvements,
00:57:33.060 --> 00:57:35.873
which should dramatically decrease the rates
00:57:35.873 --> 00:57:38.623
they would have to ask customers to pay.
00:57:39.860 --> 00:57:44.410
Edison could also decrease their dividend, God forbid.
00:57:44.410 --> 00:57:48.180
They could also put a tax on hotels, ships, and planes
00:57:49.500 --> 00:57:52.540
in order to recuperate some of the investment
00:57:53.630 --> 00:57:55.990
that they should be making on infrastructure.
00:57:55.990 --> 00:58:00.890
And again, I fault both Catalina and Edison
00:58:00.890 --> 00:58:02.950
for not looking at reality
00:58:04.160 --> 00:58:08.170
and improving the infrastructure
00:58:08.170 --> 00:58:12.780
that people have known about for years is decrepit
00:58:12.780 --> 00:58:15.090
and not sustainable.
00:58:15.090 --> 00:58:18.890
And I would like Catalina to ask themselves
00:58:18.890 --> 00:58:20.760
are they going to become like one
00:58:20.760 --> 00:58:24.690
of the islands off of the State of Washington?
00:58:24.690 --> 00:58:28.530
I think it was Whidbey Island or something,
00:58:28.530 --> 00:58:31.723
which actually lost all their water.
00:58:34.647 --> 00:58:37.610
Finally, because even though you're decreasing
00:58:37.610 --> 00:58:39.530
your water usage,
00:58:39.530 --> 00:58:43.043
you may not be in a situation where it's sustainable.
00:58:44.220 --> 00:58:47.670
So having reasonable rates,
00:58:47.670 --> 00:58:51.110
Catalina needs to look themselves in the mirror
00:58:51.110 --> 00:58:54.980
and say, if we've got multiple families living
00:58:54.980 --> 00:58:58.270
in apartments or houses that normally would
00:58:58.270 --> 00:59:01.130
only have three or four people,
00:59:01.130 --> 00:59:03.431
and now we've got six or eight
00:59:03.431 --> 00:59:07.960
because they're all working at low minimum wage jobs
00:59:07.960 --> 00:59:12.960
on the Island to keep the hotel business going,
00:59:13.930 --> 00:59:18.600
is that really a sustainable environment?
00:59:18.600 --> 00:59:21.393
You have to look at what Catalina provides.
00:59:22.290 --> 00:59:26.620
Are people willing to pay $300 a night for a hotel?
00:59:26.620 --> 00:59:28.750
And perhaps they're not.
00:59:28.750 --> 00:59:33.040
And then perhaps the viability of Catalina Island
00:59:33.040 --> 00:59:36.930
with water and electricity is not as viable
00:59:36.930 --> 00:59:38.833
as small businesses think.
00:59:40.040 --> 00:59:43.170
I would also like to ask why they're not opening
00:59:43.170 --> 00:59:45.740
up the water district
00:59:45.740 --> 00:59:50.030
to competitive quotes from out-of-state companies.
00:59:50.030 --> 00:59:55.030
Perhaps Edison is not the best entity
00:59:55.200 --> 00:59:59.033
to come up with solutions.
01:00:01.060 --> 01:00:06.060
I'd also like to comment again, that Edison has failed,
01:00:10.350 --> 01:00:13.683
over the years in this area that I live in,
01:00:13.683 --> 01:00:18.380
to not mitigate against the extraordinary drought
01:00:18.380 --> 01:00:21.640
that we've seen over the years
01:00:21.640 --> 01:00:26.273
nor do they put money into the environmental costs.
01:00:27.810 --> 01:00:30.360
And so again, Edison has to look themselves
01:00:30.360 --> 01:00:32.920
in the mirror and more importantly
01:00:32.920 --> 01:00:36.320
the California Public Utilities Commission needs
01:00:36.320 --> 01:00:38.200
to look themselves in the mirror
01:00:39.430 --> 01:00:42.430
and ask who is really guiding the ship.
01:00:42.430 --> 01:00:44.897
Because over the years we've seen less
01:00:44.897 --> 01:00:49.897
and less investment, stupider and stupider decisions
01:00:50.280 --> 01:00:53.960
so that everyone's clamoring after more money
01:00:53.960 --> 01:00:57.240
and more money will not solve a situation
01:00:57.240 --> 01:01:01.300
that's not sustainable to begin with.
01:01:01.300 --> 01:01:02.473
Thank you very much.
01:01:07.330 --> 01:01:08.680
Thank you, Ms. Luxenberg.
01:01:09.680 --> 01:01:12.210
Operator, could I have the next caller?
01:01:12.210 --> 01:01:14.010
Up next is Anni Marshall.
01:01:14.010 --> 01:01:15.253
Your line is open.
01:01:16.810 --> 01:01:18.550
Hello, I'm Anni Marshall, Mayor
01:01:18.550 --> 01:01:20.653
of the City of Avalon on Catalina.
01:01:21.750 --> 01:01:23.770
Judge, Madame President, and honorable
01:01:23.770 --> 01:01:26.790
CPUC Commission members,
01:01:26.790 --> 01:01:28.730
as mayor of the City of Avalon,
01:01:28.730 --> 01:01:31.390
I implore you to take into consideration
01:01:31.390 --> 01:01:33.653
the detrimental impact of the rates
01:01:33.653 --> 01:01:37.110
that Southern California Edison is proposing.
01:01:37.110 --> 01:01:39.120
As you may know, the City of Avalon
01:01:39.120 --> 01:01:41.190
has been deemed a disadvantaged community
01:01:41.190 --> 01:01:43.520
by federal HUD guidelines
01:01:43.520 --> 01:01:46.470
and the LA County Development Authority.
01:01:46.470 --> 01:01:49.130
The residents of Avalon's household income
01:01:49.130 --> 01:01:51.480
is 40% less than the households throughout
01:01:51.480 --> 01:01:55.030
the State of California, which was stated earlier.
01:01:55.030 --> 01:01:57.690
The Island, being a destination for vacationers,
01:01:57.690 --> 01:01:59.640
employees the majority of its residents
01:01:59.640 --> 01:02:01.550
in the service industry.
01:02:01.550 --> 01:02:04.640
The majority of these positions are paid minimum wage
01:02:04.640 --> 01:02:06.980
and in many cases our residents pay an excess
01:02:06.980 --> 01:02:10.173
of 70% of their income toward their rent.
01:02:11.180 --> 01:02:14.010
Any rate increases will be passed on to the tenant,
01:02:14.010 --> 01:02:16.630
only exacerbating their finances
01:02:16.630 --> 01:02:20.140
in an already fragile housing situation.
01:02:20.140 --> 01:02:22.280
I can only hope you, as Commissioners,
01:02:22.280 --> 01:02:23.894
will do the right thing when determining
01:02:23.894 --> 01:02:27.930
that future water rates are fair, equitable,
01:02:27.930 --> 01:02:30.070
and insist in maintaining the highest quality
01:02:30.070 --> 01:02:32.000
of life for our residents.
01:02:32.000 --> 01:02:33.700
Thank you very much for your time.
01:02:35.870 --> 01:02:37.273
Thank you Ms. Marshall.
01:02:40.276 --> 01:02:41.660
I'm not sure if she spelled her last name
01:02:41.660 --> 01:02:44.260
but it sounds like she may have dropped off already.
01:02:47.080 --> 01:02:49.860
Operator, could you please call the next caller?
01:02:49.860 --> 01:02:52.160
Next is Olina Wibroe
01:02:52.160 --> 01:02:54.880
on behalf of Senator Ben Allen.
01:02:54.880 --> 01:02:56.023
Your line is open.
01:02:57.490 --> 01:02:59.020
Hello, my name is Olina Wibroe.
01:02:59.020 --> 01:03:01.990
I'm the district representative for State Senator Ben Allen.
01:03:01.990 --> 01:03:04.200
Senator Allen wants to express his deep concerns
01:03:04.200 --> 01:03:05.670
about the proposed rate increase
01:03:05.670 --> 01:03:06.730
and the impact it will have
01:03:06.730 --> 01:03:08.610
on residents and their businesses,
01:03:08.610 --> 01:03:11.130
which have already been significantly impacted
01:03:11.130 --> 01:03:13.070
by the COVID-19 crisis.
01:03:13.070 --> 01:03:15.470
A rate increase of this magnitude will increase
01:03:15.470 --> 01:03:17.702
the already very high cost of living burden
01:03:17.702 --> 01:03:20.402
that impact those living on the Island.
01:03:20.402 --> 01:03:21.235
Thank you.
01:03:22.480 --> 01:03:23.313
Thank you.
01:03:23.313 --> 01:03:25.933
Ms. Wibroe, could you please spell your last name?
01:03:27.520 --> 01:03:30.793
W-I-B, as in Bob, R-O-E.
01:03:32.950 --> 01:03:33.783
Thank you.
01:03:39.527 --> 01:03:41.727
Can I please have the next caller, operator?
01:03:42.570 --> 01:03:44.310
That is from Lee Harrison?
01:03:44.310 --> 01:03:45.333
Your line is open.
01:03:48.060 --> 01:03:53.060
Hello, my name is Lee Harrison, H-A-R-R-I-S-O-N.
01:03:53.773 --> 01:03:57.680
I am the CEO for the Western Los Angeles County Council
01:03:57.680 --> 01:04:00.880
Boy Scouts of America, operating Camp Emerald Bay
01:04:00.880 --> 01:04:02.653
on the west end of Catalina Island.
01:04:03.800 --> 01:04:05.490
Just a little bit about who we are,
01:04:05.490 --> 01:04:10.490
we serve approximately 13,000 families a year,
01:04:11.580 --> 01:04:16.140
or youth a year, occupying about 60,000 camper nights
01:04:16.140 --> 01:04:18.203
in that one-year period.
01:04:19.620 --> 01:04:23.780
Over the history of our water usage, beginning in 2006,
01:04:23.780 --> 01:04:26.060
we were using about three and a half million gallons
01:04:26.060 --> 01:04:27.800
of water a year.
01:04:27.800 --> 01:04:31.300
By 2019, we had reduced that consumption
01:04:31.300 --> 01:04:35.620
to almost as low as 800,000 a year
01:04:38.960 --> 01:04:41.450
while maintaining the same occupancy level
01:04:41.450 --> 01:04:44.020
as we have through that entire time.
01:04:44.020 --> 01:04:47.008
Essentially, that's a reduction of about 60 gallons
01:04:47.008 --> 01:04:52.008
per person down to about 14 gallons per person.
01:04:54.870 --> 01:04:57.620
During that time, the Council and the Boy Scouts
01:04:57.620 --> 01:05:00.621
have invested tens of thousands of dollars
01:05:00.621 --> 01:05:02.660
in water-saving projects
01:05:02.660 --> 01:05:06.120
in order to be able to reduce that number of water usage.
01:05:06.120 --> 01:05:08.850
This year alone, we anticipate investing
01:05:08.850 --> 01:05:12.160
about $20,000 of additional work.
01:05:12.160 --> 01:05:15.140
Unfortunately, we are not able to pass
01:05:15.140 --> 01:05:18.490
along that investment to our customers,
01:05:18.490 --> 01:05:21.723
primarily because we serve mostly middle-class families
01:05:21.723 --> 01:05:24.350
with a large minority of those
01:05:24.350 --> 01:05:26.930
being low-income participants.
01:05:26.930 --> 01:05:29.500
We serve a large population
01:05:29.500 --> 01:05:34.253
of the Southern California area over a diverse population.
01:05:36.160 --> 01:05:38.120
So we are not able to pass along that just
01:05:38.120 --> 01:05:39.643
in that investment alone.
01:05:42.140 --> 01:05:45.460
And any additional increases in the water rates
01:05:45.460 --> 01:05:47.740
of that significant level will make it really hard
01:05:47.740 --> 01:05:49.860
for us to operate the programs
01:05:49.860 --> 01:05:52.100
in the capacity that we do now.
01:05:52.100 --> 01:05:53.307
Thank you very much for the time
01:05:53.307 --> 01:05:55.743
and the energy on this issue.
01:05:58.100 --> 01:05:59.850
Thank you, Mr. Harrison.
01:05:59.850 --> 01:06:02.520
Operator, next caller, please.
01:06:02.520 --> 01:06:04.570
Next speaker is a Howard Morrison.
01:06:04.570 --> 01:06:05.593
Your line is open.
01:06:06.849 --> 01:06:08.949
[Howard] Hi, thank you for having me.
01:06:08.949 --> 01:06:13.949
My name is Howard Morrison, spelled M-O-R-R-I-S-O-N.
01:06:16.020 --> 01:06:19.790
I am a resident of Temecula, California
01:06:19.790 --> 01:06:24.790
and I got on this call because of the ongoing concern
01:06:25.110 --> 01:06:28.210
with Edison and the continual rate increases
01:06:28.210 --> 01:06:29.850
and this was yet another one
01:06:29.850 --> 01:06:32.020
which I thought was quite frivolous.
01:06:32.020 --> 01:06:35.810
And I've over the years left with the feeling
01:06:35.810 --> 01:06:37.453
that there's no accountability.
01:06:38.710 --> 01:06:41.880
Somehow the rates always go up, they always need more
01:06:41.880 --> 01:06:43.850
and yet nothing is improving.
01:06:43.850 --> 01:06:46.130
The goal of the company should be
01:06:46.130 --> 01:06:49.670
to how can we, at the worst, maintain costs?
01:06:49.670 --> 01:06:52.683
But how in the future can we reduce costs?
01:06:54.400 --> 01:06:56.080
The world is going to electric.
01:06:56.080 --> 01:07:00.100
They don't seem to want to embrace solar panels.
01:07:00.100 --> 01:07:01.210
They're quite the opposite,
01:07:01.210 --> 01:07:02.560
they wanna run away from it.
01:07:02.560 --> 01:07:04.360
They're not going to the future.
01:07:04.360 --> 01:07:06.170
They're not investing, it seems like.
01:07:06.170 --> 01:07:09.030
And how could we get costs down?
01:07:09.030 --> 01:07:13.170
So what I looked at quickly was my electric bill,
01:07:13.170 --> 01:07:15.370
just in a quick sense.
01:07:15.370 --> 01:07:17.283
If I go to kilowatts per hour,
01:07:18.200 --> 01:07:21.020
there's been a rate increase since 2021.
01:07:21.020 --> 01:07:25.860
One year later, my bill has gone up per kilowatt hour 31.8%.
01:07:27.340 --> 01:07:32.340
So in this year, just going from January to March,
01:07:34.100 --> 01:07:36.120
it went up 13.3%.
01:07:36.120 --> 01:07:37.730
I wasn't aware they had that kind
01:07:37.730 --> 01:07:41.290
of funding capability where they could just change the bill.
01:07:41.290 --> 01:07:44.550
So when I saw that they wanted another increase
01:07:44.550 --> 01:07:49.530
and this water-related and so forth, it's out of control.
01:07:49.530 --> 01:07:51.070
So that's my position on it.
01:07:51.070 --> 01:07:54.150
I wanted to say what can we do about getting accountability?
01:07:54.150 --> 01:07:56.590
What can we do about having this company look
01:07:56.590 --> 01:07:59.880
to the future and get our costs, at the very worst
01:07:59.880 --> 01:08:01.160
and remain the same,
01:08:01.160 --> 01:08:03.840
and at the best let's start getting them down?
01:08:03.840 --> 01:08:07.030
So we seem to be an ATM for these guys.
01:08:07.030 --> 01:08:10.600
And I bet if we examined what's going on there's a reason.
01:08:10.600 --> 01:08:12.620
Somebody's taking money off the top,
01:08:12.620 --> 01:08:14.240
no one's managing the projects,
01:08:14.240 --> 01:08:16.020
there's no accountability.
01:08:16.020 --> 01:08:17.520
So that's my comment.
01:08:17.520 --> 01:08:18.720
Thank you for listening.
01:08:20.750 --> 01:08:22.680
Thank you for your comment.
01:08:22.680 --> 01:08:24.453
Operator, next caller, please.
01:08:25.470 --> 01:08:27.669
Next speaker is Wayne Asen.
01:08:27.669 --> 01:08:29.423
Your line is open.
01:08:30.460 --> 01:08:32.080
Hi, my name is Wayne Paysen.
01:08:32.080 --> 01:08:37.080
My last name is spelled P, as in paper, A-Y-S-E-N.
01:08:37.110 --> 01:08:40.000
I want to, first of all, applaud the insights
01:08:40.000 --> 01:08:43.883
from the previous customers who called in.
01:08:46.720 --> 01:08:50.600
I am an electrical customer out of Paris, California
01:08:50.600 --> 01:08:53.300
and my concern is with the element
01:08:53.300 --> 01:08:56.917
of the proposal that seeks to recover costs
01:08:59.020 --> 01:09:01.440
for operational costs and capital investments
01:09:02.700 --> 01:09:06.513
from the system wide electrical customers.
01:09:07.530 --> 01:09:10.130
You're asking for a rate increase
01:09:10.130 --> 01:09:14.800
for people who are on a limited income,
01:09:14.800 --> 01:09:18.630
either because they're retired or they're disabled
01:09:20.390 --> 01:09:24.940
and ask them to pay for these investments
01:09:24.940 --> 01:09:29.940
in an isolated low residency vacation community
01:09:32.150 --> 01:09:34.580
which they may never even visit.
01:09:34.580 --> 01:09:37.510
It costs money just to get to the Island.
01:09:37.510 --> 01:09:39.420
So for people who are on limited income
01:09:39.420 --> 01:09:43.250
who would never visit the Island anyway,
01:09:43.250 --> 01:09:47.060
are being asked to pay for the capital
01:09:47.060 --> 01:09:51.510
and operational costs for the wineries* for the Island.
01:09:51.510 --> 01:09:54.060
I think that's an unconscionable position.
01:09:54.060 --> 01:09:57.972
I can appreciate the position of the long-term residents
01:09:57.972 --> 01:10:02.810
of the Island but perhaps if the infrastructure
01:10:02.810 --> 01:10:06.340
is so heavily damaged there, so dysfunctional,
01:10:06.340 --> 01:10:09.143
perhaps they need to seek an entirely new model.
01:10:10.160 --> 01:10:11.360
Thank you for your time.
01:10:13.130 --> 01:10:14.950
Thank you, Mr. Paysen.
01:10:14.950 --> 01:10:15.950
Next caller, please.
01:10:17.120 --> 01:10:19.330
Next speaker is Mark Colson.
01:10:19.330 --> 01:10:20.473
Your line is open.
01:10:23.260 --> 01:10:24.210
Thank you.
01:10:25.090 --> 01:10:27.230
Thank you, judge and members of the Board.
01:10:27.230 --> 01:10:29.630
I believe my last name was mispronounced.
01:10:29.630 --> 01:10:32.010
My name is Mark Coltrin.
01:10:32.010 --> 01:10:36.340
That's spelled C-O-L-T-R-I-N.
01:10:36.340 --> 01:10:38.680
I'm a resident of Mission Viejo
01:10:38.680 --> 01:10:41.290
and am a certified public accountant
01:10:41.290 --> 01:10:43.880
held a good standing with the State of California,
01:10:43.880 --> 01:10:45.457
certificate number 133612,
01:10:48.410 --> 01:10:50.673
held with clear status and active.
01:10:51.950 --> 01:10:55.240
Judge, members, this is a financial discussion,
01:10:55.240 --> 01:10:56.360
pure and simple.
01:10:56.360 --> 01:11:00.340
And I would ask the judge and those who are considering
01:11:00.340 --> 01:11:03.780
this rate increase to consider the financial position
01:11:03.780 --> 01:11:05.350
of Southern California Edison
01:11:05.350 --> 01:11:07.620
and whether this rate increase is really necessary,
01:11:07.620 --> 01:11:09.353
given its financial position.
01:11:10.660 --> 01:11:13.770
When reviewing their financial statement filed
01:11:13.770 --> 01:11:15.780
with the Securities and Exchange Commission
01:11:15.780 --> 01:11:18.920
on February 25th, 2021
01:11:18.920 --> 01:11:21.460
and looking at their consolidated financial statements
01:11:21.460 --> 01:11:22.670
for the statements of income,
01:11:22.670 --> 01:11:26.850
you will notice in the fiscal year 2020,
01:11:26.850 --> 01:11:29.470
Southern California Edison had revenues
01:11:29.470 --> 01:11:33.550
in excess of $13,578,000,000.
01:11:33.550 --> 01:11:37.890
When compared to 2019, which reflects an income
01:11:37.890 --> 01:11:40.537
of $12,347,000,000,
01:11:41.680 --> 01:11:43.610
that's an approximate 10% increase
01:11:43.610 --> 01:11:46.230
in revenue year over year.
01:11:46.230 --> 01:11:47.680
Now that's not the only metric.
01:11:47.680 --> 01:11:50.700
I'd like to highlight a couple of other financial metrics
01:11:50.700 --> 01:11:53.840
for the Board's consideration here.
01:11:53.840 --> 01:11:57.080
When looking at net income, their net income is slightly
01:11:57.080 --> 01:11:58.700
down this year compared to last year.
01:11:58.700 --> 01:12:03.700
Last year they made a net income of $1.4 billion compared
01:12:04.350 --> 01:12:09.090
to 2020 making only $871 million net income.
01:12:09.090 --> 01:12:11.040
That decrease is due really only
01:12:11.040 --> 01:12:16.040
to a $1.3 billion wildfire claim expense reflected
01:12:18.210 --> 01:12:21.010
on their financial statements.
01:12:21.010 --> 01:12:23.990
Despite that, they are still profitable
01:12:23.990 --> 01:12:25.893
in multiples of millions of dollars.
01:12:26.850 --> 01:12:28.720
Further, I would ask the board to reflect
01:12:28.720 --> 01:12:30.830
on the company statement of cash flows
01:12:30.830 --> 01:12:32.600
where you will notice
01:12:32.600 --> 01:12:36.180
that the company reflects the net cash provided
01:12:36.180 --> 01:12:38.990
by operating activities of $1.2 billion
01:12:39.990 --> 01:12:43.730
positive inflows from operations.
01:12:43.730 --> 01:12:46.420
Their assets increased by about $5 billion
01:12:46.420 --> 01:12:49.700
and they're sitting on about $15 billion of equity.
01:12:49.700 --> 01:12:52.763
That's net of any liabilities that the company holds.
01:12:54.210 --> 01:12:57.430
In the grand scheme of things to consider
01:12:57.430 --> 01:12:58.950
over these rate increases,
01:12:58.950 --> 01:13:02.080
the Board has to ask, is this really necessary
01:13:02.080 --> 01:13:04.700
when you look at the water rate increases proposed
01:13:04.700 --> 01:13:06.850
by Southern California Edison
01:13:06.850 --> 01:13:10.993
of anywhere between 64% to 37% increase?
01:13:12.170 --> 01:13:13.153
That seems,
01:13:14.720 --> 01:13:18.500
if I'm looking at this as a stage,
01:13:18.500 --> 01:13:20.040
that seems quite excessive
01:13:20.040 --> 01:13:24.720
given Southern California's financial position.
01:13:24.720 --> 01:13:27.080
They're highly profitable.
01:13:27.080 --> 01:13:28.150
If you were to look at them
01:13:28.150 --> 01:13:30.210
in terms of an S & P 500 company,
01:13:30.210 --> 01:13:32.700
they wouldn't quite be on the S & P 500,
01:13:32.700 --> 01:13:35.000
they wouldn't be the top 500 companies,
01:13:35.000 --> 01:13:36.833
but they would be pretty darn close.
01:13:37.780 --> 01:13:40.460
I would argue that this rate increase is unnecessary
01:13:40.460 --> 01:13:42.830
in Southern California Edison should go back
01:13:42.830 --> 01:13:44.750
and sharpen their pencils a little bit more
01:13:44.750 --> 01:13:47.320
and think about the assets
01:13:47.320 --> 01:13:50.250
and the management style that they have on hand
01:13:50.250 --> 01:13:53.400
and consider whether this rate increase is really necessary.
01:13:53.400 --> 01:13:54.880
Rate increases have been in the news
01:13:54.880 --> 01:13:56.620
quite a bit lately.
01:13:56.620 --> 01:13:58.390
Looking at these financial statements
01:13:58.390 --> 01:13:59.260
that they just filed
01:13:59.260 --> 01:14:01.130
with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
01:14:01.130 --> 01:14:06.130
I find it unnecessary and frivolous,
01:14:06.150 --> 01:14:09.683
as was previously sited by other members before me.
01:14:10.600 --> 01:14:12.160
With that, I yield the rest of my time
01:14:12.160 --> 01:14:14.623
and thank you for allowing me to comment today.
01:14:17.033 --> 01:14:17.866
Thank you, Mr. Coltrin.
01:14:18.830 --> 01:14:19.980
Next speaker, operator.
01:14:21.830 --> 01:14:23.770
Next speaker is Nancy Hill.
01:14:23.770 --> 01:14:24.993
Your line is open.
01:14:26.420 --> 01:14:30.221
Hello, and thank you for this time with this.
01:14:30.221 --> 01:14:32.180
I'm a resident of Irvine.
01:14:32.180 --> 01:14:34.870
My last name is spelled H-I-L-L.
01:14:34.870 --> 01:14:39.870
I've been in Southern California for 55 years
01:14:40.190 --> 01:14:42.510
and I'm a homeowner.
01:14:42.510 --> 01:14:47.510
And I looked at my SCE bill yesterday for March
01:14:48.090 --> 01:14:52.430
and not only is the kilowatt hours listed here
01:14:52.430 --> 01:14:57.430
at 0.13095, there's also a generation charge,
01:15:01.310 --> 01:15:06.310
which is for the first 245 kilowatt hours, 4.09545,
01:15:09.410 --> 01:15:14.410
which is almost well, maybe like 70%
01:15:15.210 --> 01:15:18.230
of the regular Tier One cost.
01:15:18.230 --> 01:15:20.170
And that's not even factored
01:15:20.170 --> 01:15:23.370
into what everybody's been talking about.
01:15:23.370 --> 01:15:28.000
And I totally agree with the last few people
01:15:28.000 --> 01:15:30.590
saying Southern California Edison
01:15:30.590 --> 01:15:33.220
is making billions of dollars,
01:15:33.220 --> 01:15:36.840
They have been for years, they aren't upgrading,
01:15:36.840 --> 01:15:39.550
they aren't helping with the problems
01:15:39.550 --> 01:15:42.080
that have caused all the wildfires,
01:15:42.080 --> 01:15:44.330
which they've been fined for.
01:15:44.330 --> 01:15:47.900
And I believe the billions and billions of dollars
01:15:47.900 --> 01:15:52.900
they're bringing in, could substantially take care
01:15:53.650 --> 01:15:57.673
of the people in Catalina.
01:15:58.690 --> 01:16:02.220
And so I'm hoping they will become more,
01:16:02.220 --> 01:16:04.190
not that they need to be a charity,
01:16:04.190 --> 01:16:06.960
but they could be more charitable to communities
01:16:06.960 --> 01:16:10.000
that are in such dire need.
01:16:10.000 --> 01:16:11.263
Thank you for your time.
01:16:13.523 --> 01:16:15.000
Thank you, Ms. Hill.
01:16:15.000 --> 01:16:16.990
Speaker or sorry, operator,
01:16:16.990 --> 01:16:18.530
next caller, please.
01:16:18.530 --> 01:16:19.363
Thank you.
01:16:19.363 --> 01:16:21.470
Next speaker is Jim Lutt Johann.
01:16:21.470 --> 01:16:22.813
Your line is open.
01:16:24.860 --> 01:16:25.693
Thank you.
01:16:25.693 --> 01:16:30.320
My name is Jim Lee Johann, spelled L-U-T-T J-O-H-A-N-N.
01:16:31.320 --> 01:16:33.950
I am President and CEO of the Catalina Island
01:16:33.950 --> 01:16:36.270
Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau.
01:16:36.270 --> 01:16:37.550
We do business also
01:16:37.550 --> 01:16:40.003
as the Catalina Island Tourism Authority.
01:16:41.850 --> 01:16:44.930
Before me, you've heard from Council Member Lisa Lavelle,
01:16:44.930 --> 01:16:48.850
Mayor Marshall, and our representative Norris Bishan,
01:16:48.850 --> 01:16:52.570
who've been very eloquent in stating our specific case.
01:16:52.570 --> 01:16:54.625
I'd just like to add a couple of details.
01:16:54.625 --> 01:16:59.070
Whether it is the Plan A or Plan B proposal,
01:16:59.070 --> 01:17:02.610
it is not at all sustainable for our small number
01:17:02.610 --> 01:17:06.260
of households to absorb the rate increases
01:17:06.260 --> 01:17:08.803
that are proposed, especially under Plan B.
01:17:09.680 --> 01:17:12.630
The small businesses that are on Catalina Island
01:17:12.630 --> 01:17:15.640
do not have the bandwidth to increase their expenses.
01:17:15.640 --> 01:17:18.573
You heard that from Mr. Affolder very clearly.
01:17:20.250 --> 01:17:22.870
Regarding one of the comments made by another caller,
01:17:22.870 --> 01:17:26.570
Ms. Luxenberg, I just wanted to assure everyone on the call
01:17:26.570 --> 01:17:30.810
that her idea that we should look at assessing a fee
01:17:30.810 --> 01:17:33.980
on planes, boats, and hotels has been looked
01:17:33.980 --> 01:17:36.110
at many times over.
01:17:36.110 --> 01:17:39.510
It has been done for some competing interests,
01:17:39.510 --> 01:17:41.511
where it was within the legal parameters
01:17:41.511 --> 01:17:45.860
of those different oversight agencies,
01:17:45.860 --> 01:17:48.990
but it's not as straightforward as it might seem
01:17:48.990 --> 01:17:50.890
to simply do that.
01:17:50.890 --> 01:17:53.730
And during the drought period,
01:17:53.730 --> 01:17:55.720
the businesses of Catalina Island spent
01:17:55.720 --> 01:17:58.460
tens of thousands of dollars for drought mitigation,
01:17:58.460 --> 01:18:01.150
including buying bottled water,
01:18:01.150 --> 01:18:04.020
shipping laundry off the Island,
01:18:04.020 --> 01:18:08.130
paying penalties for going over usage allocations.
01:18:08.130 --> 01:18:10.990
And from the businesses I've heard from,
01:18:10.990 --> 01:18:13.610
most of whom are not able to be on the call
01:18:13.610 --> 01:18:16.350
because of spring break business
01:18:16.350 --> 01:18:18.780
in their places of business right now,
01:18:18.780 --> 01:18:21.690
but from those I've heard, they think it's absurd
01:18:21.690 --> 01:18:24.620
to be asked to payback the revenue not earned
01:18:24.620 --> 01:18:26.500
by Southern California Edison
01:18:26.500 --> 01:18:28.953
after they already undertook the extra expense
01:18:28.953 --> 01:18:33.250
of finding ways to reduce the usage.
01:18:33.250 --> 01:18:34.283
Thank you very much.
01:18:36.570 --> 01:18:37.740
Thank you.
01:18:37.740 --> 01:18:42.430
Regarding the comment about spring break on Catalina Island
01:18:42.430 --> 01:18:46.240
and possibly holding additional Public Participation
01:18:46.240 --> 01:18:49.880
Hearing made by Council Member Lavelle,
01:18:49.880 --> 01:18:52.543
We will certainly take it under consideration.
01:18:53.820 --> 01:18:57.430
But I'd also like to remind people that comments
01:18:57.430 --> 01:19:00.773
can be made as well online, written comments.
01:19:02.830 --> 01:19:05.910
But I would like to work with Edison possibly
01:19:05.910 --> 01:19:09.630
to find optimal places to post notices
01:19:10.580 --> 01:19:15.580
of such so that Island residents can certainly
01:19:15.580 --> 01:19:16.780
make their voices heard.
01:19:20.700 --> 01:19:22.200
Operator, next caller, please.
01:19:23.960 --> 01:19:26.680
Next speaker is Bruce Fertig.
01:19:26.680 --> 01:19:27.963
Your line is open.
01:19:29.590 --> 01:19:34.590
Name is Bruce Fertig, that's F-E-R-T-I-G.
01:19:35.160 --> 01:19:38.610
I have been a water rate payer here on the Island
01:19:38.610 --> 01:19:43.610
since 1971, which means I have gone through every drought
01:19:44.930 --> 01:19:48.290
Edison has experienced over that period of time,
01:19:48.290 --> 01:19:51.200
which is every drought they've ever experienced.
01:19:51.200 --> 01:19:56.200
And one of the very predictable things is we
01:19:56.420 --> 01:19:59.040
have a drought, we're asked to conserve,
01:19:59.040 --> 01:20:01.020
we're mandated to conserve,
01:20:01.020 --> 01:20:04.450
we conserve and then their revenues are down,
01:20:04.450 --> 01:20:07.370
and that gets rolled into the next argument
01:20:07.370 --> 01:20:11.210
that they need another rate increase.
01:20:11.210 --> 01:20:13.080
So what I would like to see,
01:20:13.080 --> 01:20:17.140
and I don't know if my fellow members
01:20:17.140 --> 01:20:19.870
of the community will be a real happy with this,
01:20:19.870 --> 01:20:24.150
but I would rather see some mitigation
01:20:24.150 --> 01:20:27.930
while we're in mandatory reduction.
01:20:27.930 --> 01:20:30.670
And that would be if we're asked to,
01:20:30.670 --> 01:20:34.440
if we're mandated to conserve 25%,
01:20:34.440 --> 01:20:39.440
maybe we look at a surcharge of around 25%,
01:20:39.440 --> 01:20:42.937
which theoretically should level out the rates
01:20:42.937 --> 01:20:46.253
for the customers and Edison.
01:20:49.600 --> 01:20:51.240
I don't know how many of these we've had,
01:20:51.240 --> 01:20:53.410
at least a half a dozen times,
01:20:53.410 --> 01:20:56.770
where we've gone into rationing.
01:20:56.770 --> 01:20:59.050
And I think it would just be a better plan
01:20:59.050 --> 01:21:03.140
to mitigate for it as a temporary measure
01:21:03.140 --> 01:21:06.290
along with the temporary measures where we're mandated
01:21:06.290 --> 01:21:08.900
to reduce our water consumption.
01:21:08.900 --> 01:21:10.053
Thank you very much.
01:21:12.740 --> 01:21:13.940
Thank you, Mr. Fertig.
01:21:15.260 --> 01:21:16.743
Operator, next speaker.
01:21:17.630 --> 01:21:20.170
Next speaker is Jose Banda.
01:21:20.170 --> 01:21:21.583
Your line is open.
01:21:23.450 --> 01:21:25.070
Yeah, thank you for taking my call.
01:21:25.070 --> 01:21:27.764
My name is Jose Banda.
01:21:27.764 --> 01:21:31.300
The spelling of the last name is B, as in Bob, A-N-D-A.
01:21:31.300 --> 01:21:34.620
I am a customer of Southern California Edison
01:21:34.620 --> 01:21:37.640
and I am calling because I'm concerned
01:21:37.640 --> 01:21:40.700
about the rate increases that Southern California Edison
01:21:40.700 --> 01:21:43.920
has been making every year.
01:21:43.920 --> 01:21:47.290
This year is the water for Catalina Island,
01:21:47.290 --> 01:21:51.260
last year it was to help Southern California Gas Company,
01:21:51.260 --> 01:21:53.140
they increased the rates then.
01:21:53.140 --> 01:21:58.140
Also I'm concerned about the bond that was already paid for,
01:21:58.720 --> 01:22:00.097
I believe it's called DWR.
01:22:01.020 --> 01:22:02.870
That bond was already met
01:22:02.870 --> 01:22:06.199
and according to the documentation that I received
01:22:06.199 --> 01:22:09.490
from Southern California Edison,
01:22:09.490 --> 01:22:13.710
that bond now has been transferred to the wildfires
01:22:13.710 --> 01:22:15.410
to pay for the wildfires.
01:22:15.410 --> 01:22:19.350
My question to Southern California is,
01:22:19.350 --> 01:22:22.950
having been aware of the fact that they are suffering losses
01:22:22.950 --> 01:22:25.740
every year because they start fires,
01:22:25.740 --> 01:22:30.740
they're not considering that possibly
01:22:31.250 --> 01:22:34.290
they should consider reinsuring their losses,
01:22:34.290 --> 01:22:36.150
as opposed to having the rate payers
01:22:36.150 --> 01:22:39.870
be paying every year for whatever wildfire they started
01:22:39.870 --> 01:22:41.670
and they ended up paying.
01:22:41.670 --> 01:22:43.470
So those are my comments and questions.
01:22:43.470 --> 01:22:44.957
Thank you for listening.
01:22:46.740 --> 01:22:47.890
Thank you, Mr. Banda.
01:22:51.640 --> 01:22:54.557
Operator, are there any additional callers?
01:22:54.557 --> 01:22:57.480
There are no speakers at this time.
01:22:57.480 --> 01:23:00.280
Okay, let's go off the record for a second.
01:23:00.280 --> 01:23:03.100
I understand that the TURN representative is now
01:23:03.100 --> 01:23:03.933
on the line.
01:23:03.933 --> 01:23:05.463
Mr. Finkelstein, are you there?
01:23:08.510 --> 01:23:10.930
Your honor, Bob Finkelstein for TURN.
01:23:10.930 --> 01:23:11.763
I am.
01:23:11.763 --> 01:23:14.710
I'm a little slow to find the unmute button, but I'm here.
01:23:14.710 --> 01:23:15.543
It's okay.
01:23:15.543 --> 01:23:17.673
Would you like to give your presentation now?
01:23:19.090 --> 01:23:20.700
Your honor, if you think it would serve
01:23:20.700 --> 01:23:22.520
a useful purpose, I'd be glad to just run
01:23:22.520 --> 01:23:24.930
through the very minimal comments I had.
01:23:24.930 --> 01:23:27.560
Otherwise, I could also wait until this evening,
01:23:27.560 --> 01:23:28.810
if that makes more sense.
01:23:29.940 --> 01:23:33.750
No, we'll give callers a little bit more time
01:23:33.750 --> 01:23:36.390
in case there's anybody that wants to join in.
01:23:36.390 --> 01:23:38.040
All right, well thank you then.
01:23:41.010 --> 01:23:42.210
Court reporters ready?
01:23:43.740 --> 01:23:45.460
Okay, go ahead whenever...
01:23:45.460 --> 01:23:46.293
Back on the record.
01:23:46.293 --> 01:23:48.433
Go ahead, when you're ready, Mr. Finkelstein.
01:23:49.660 --> 01:23:50.780
Thank you, Judge Toy.
01:23:50.780 --> 01:23:52.560
My name is Robert Finkelstein.
01:23:52.560 --> 01:23:55.030
I'm an attorney who works on the staff
01:23:55.030 --> 01:23:59.760
of The Utility Reform Network,
01:23:59.760 --> 01:24:03.520
which goes by the acronym TURN, T-U-R-N.
01:24:03.520 --> 01:24:07.490
TURN is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization
01:24:07.490 --> 01:24:10.520
that focuses on utility issues.
01:24:10.520 --> 01:24:11.810
We represent the interests
01:24:11.810 --> 01:24:14.060
of residential and small business customers
01:24:14.060 --> 01:24:17.880
of the states major energy utilities.
01:24:17.880 --> 01:24:19.240
And in this proceeding
01:24:19.240 --> 01:24:22.160
we want to see the Commission adopt fair
01:24:22.160 --> 01:24:26.170
and reasonable rates for Edison's Catalina water service
01:24:26.170 --> 01:24:30.120
but without assigning cost of the water utility service
01:24:30.120 --> 01:24:33.130
to Edison's electric utility customers.
01:24:33.130 --> 01:24:34.570
We're hopeful this can be achieved
01:24:34.570 --> 01:24:37.810
by limiting Edison's authorized recovery
01:24:37.810 --> 01:24:41.740
to amounts that are just and reasonable
01:24:41.740 --> 01:24:46.740
and collecting from Catalina Island customers
01:24:46.750 --> 01:24:49.290
amounts that don't jeopardize affordability
01:24:49.290 --> 01:24:51.520
of the utility service.
01:24:51.520 --> 01:24:52.890
And perhaps most importantly,
01:24:52.890 --> 01:24:56.590
developing alternative sources of cost recovery,
01:24:56.590 --> 01:25:00.050
such as fees charged to Catalina Island visitors,
01:25:00.050 --> 01:25:01.660
that might help offset the impact
01:25:01.660 --> 01:25:05.293
on Catalina Island residents and businesses.
01:25:06.230 --> 01:25:07.233
Thank you very much.
01:25:09.830 --> 01:25:11.990
Thank you, Mr. Finkelstein.
01:25:11.990 --> 01:25:14.980
I just wanted to cut in and,
01:25:14.980 --> 01:25:16.080
we should've done this earlier,
01:25:16.080 --> 01:25:19.513
but this meeting is being recorded.
01:25:23.655 --> 01:25:26.480
So going forward, any comments, please be advised
01:25:26.480 --> 01:25:30.023
that your comments are being electronically recorded.
01:25:31.090 --> 01:25:33.240
Operator, are there any additional callers?
01:25:35.490 --> 01:25:37.380
Yes, I do have a speaker.
01:25:37.380 --> 01:25:39.430
Next is Wayne Shishido.
01:25:39.430 --> 01:25:40.513
Your line is open.
01:25:42.600 --> 01:25:43.433
Good afternoon.
01:25:43.433 --> 01:25:44.920
My name is Wayne Shishido.
01:25:44.920 --> 01:25:49.093
Last name is spelled S-H-I-S-H-I-D-O.
01:25:51.090 --> 01:25:55.913
I'm a rate payer of Edison in Westminister, California.
01:25:57.110 --> 01:26:00.520
I'm really concerned about the rates.
01:26:00.520 --> 01:26:03.330
I'm also on a fixed income.
01:26:03.330 --> 01:26:04.730
Even when I was working,
01:26:04.730 --> 01:26:09.730
I never actually got raises every year consistently
01:26:11.280 --> 01:26:16.250
and, I mean, the rate increases are way
01:26:16.250 --> 01:26:19.850
above what I used to get in raises.
01:26:19.850 --> 01:26:23.180
And I also wanted to comment that, you know,
01:26:23.180 --> 01:26:27.290
all the large corporations basically got a really
01:26:27.290 --> 01:26:32.290
good tax cut for the last four years of 14%
01:26:33.660 --> 01:26:35.790
of all major corporations.
01:26:35.790 --> 01:26:40.440
So I really have a hard time seeing them asking
01:26:40.440 --> 01:26:43.990
for even more money when they've saved 14%
01:26:43.990 --> 01:26:47.040
in tax cuts for the last four years
01:26:47.040 --> 01:26:52.040
and while the rest of us are hurting for funds
01:26:54.650 --> 01:26:58.390
for just paying for things like electricity.
01:26:58.390 --> 01:27:03.083
So I don't think it's necessary.
01:27:05.797 --> 01:27:08.990
It's hard enough to make a living and to survive.
01:27:10.325 --> 01:27:11.158
And that's it.
01:27:14.890 --> 01:27:17.890
Thank you for your comments, Mr. Shishido.
01:27:17.890 --> 01:27:21.060
Operator, any more callers?
01:27:21.060 --> 01:27:24.330
Yes, next speaker is Daisha Woods.
01:27:24.330 --> 01:27:25.283
Your line is open.
01:27:27.040 --> 01:27:27.990
Hello everyone.
01:27:27.990 --> 01:27:29.710
My name is Daisha Woods.
01:27:29.710 --> 01:27:32.820
Last name W-O-O-D-S.
01:27:32.820 --> 01:27:36.323
I'm calling on this line because I think it's important
01:27:36.323 --> 01:27:41.323
for all California citizens, not just our brothers
01:27:41.600 --> 01:27:46.570
and sisters on Catalina Island, to respond to SoCal Edison,
01:27:46.570 --> 01:27:50.363
to be aware of what's happening with our local utilities.
01:27:51.810 --> 01:27:56.810
I'm a young, first-time home owner here in California.
01:27:57.380 --> 01:28:00.160
I've lived in California all my life.
01:28:00.160 --> 01:28:02.920
As we know, rates have just gone up and up and up
01:28:02.920 --> 01:28:06.130
and up and up, they continue to go up
01:28:07.348 --> 01:28:10.630
at really bizarre levels.
01:28:10.630 --> 01:28:15.130
Sometimes I can get a bill for $75.
01:28:15.130 --> 01:28:17.670
Other months, it's double that.
01:28:17.670 --> 01:28:21.010
And I know that changes with the season.
01:28:21.010 --> 01:28:24.220
I'm just here to lend my voice
01:28:24.220 --> 01:28:26.990
to say I'm completely opposed to these rates.
01:28:26.990 --> 01:28:31.020
The gentlemen, a representative from SoCal Edison,
01:28:31.020 --> 01:28:33.740
says that the company is sensitive
01:28:33.740 --> 01:28:38.240
to us during these difficult pandemic times.
01:28:38.240 --> 01:28:39.780
Where is the sensitivity?
01:28:39.780 --> 01:28:40.810
It's just words
01:28:42.490 --> 01:28:44.860
with no action behind it.
01:28:44.860 --> 01:28:46.170
They say they're sensitive
01:28:47.440 --> 01:28:50.600
but still they're gonna ask for increases
01:28:50.600 --> 01:28:53.220
and going back and charging people
01:28:53.220 --> 01:28:55.130
for services they've already used
01:28:55.130 --> 01:28:57.970
and then going back and charging them a higher rate
01:28:57.970 --> 01:29:00.470
is unconscionable.
01:29:00.470 --> 01:29:05.470
I personally do feel that the utility is doing a good job.
01:29:07.010 --> 01:29:10.500
I mean, there's so many lights everywhere
01:29:10.500 --> 01:29:14.060
and I will usually say that in my area,
01:29:14.060 --> 01:29:19.060
in Ventura County, shortages or outages are quickly fixed.
01:29:20.370 --> 01:29:23.123
But people cannot afford this.
01:29:24.110 --> 01:29:28.330
You're talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars
01:29:28.330 --> 01:29:30.480
over the next five years.
01:29:30.480 --> 01:29:34.100
I liked the woman who spoke about possibly
01:29:34.100 --> 01:29:36.460
doing bonds or taxes.
01:29:36.460 --> 01:29:40.110
If we all have to shoulder the responsibility,
01:29:40.110 --> 01:29:42.617
not just our brothers and sisters in Catalina Island,
01:29:42.617 --> 01:29:45.633
I'd find that to be more fair.
01:29:46.600 --> 01:29:48.863
With interest rates being so low,
01:29:49.960 --> 01:29:53.170
at least giving the voters an option
01:29:53.170 --> 01:29:57.053
to be heard and to voice their opinion.
01:29:58.780 --> 01:30:00.840
Unfortunately this phone call is happening
01:30:00.840 --> 01:30:03.100
at 1:30 on a Tuesday,
01:30:03.100 --> 01:30:06.650
when I think a lot of people are not paying attention.
01:30:06.650 --> 01:30:09.640
That's why there's maybe little awareness
01:30:09.640 --> 01:30:11.570
about these rate hikes.
01:30:11.570 --> 01:30:14.920
But I just wanna put the energy out there,
01:30:14.920 --> 01:30:18.100
please, no more rate hikes this year.
01:30:18.100 --> 01:30:19.713
We cannot afford it.
01:30:21.070 --> 01:30:23.933
I mean, the citizens simply can not afford it.
01:30:25.690 --> 01:30:27.660
This is the last thing we need.
01:30:27.660 --> 01:30:29.010
We need to maintain.
01:30:29.010 --> 01:30:31.340
We need to be conservative right now.
01:30:31.340 --> 01:30:35.350
We need to be conservative with our resources and money.
01:30:35.350 --> 01:30:37.330
And this is not the time to ask citizens
01:30:37.330 --> 01:30:39.640
for a rate increase.
01:30:39.640 --> 01:30:41.620
And I thank everybody so much
01:30:41.620 --> 01:30:44.220
for their time and energy toward this
01:30:44.220 --> 01:30:46.543
and I hope everybody has a blessed day.
01:30:49.950 --> 01:30:51.290
Thank you, Ms. Woods.
01:30:51.290 --> 01:30:53.440
Operator, are there any additional callers?
01:30:54.850 --> 01:30:57.220
The next speaker is Karen McKay.
01:30:57.220 --> 01:30:58.393
Your line is open.
01:30:59.900 --> 01:31:00.733
Thank you.
01:31:00.733 --> 01:31:04.550
My name is Karen McKay, M-C-K-A-Y.
01:31:04.550 --> 01:31:07.750
I'm a long-term resident of Catalina Island.
01:31:07.750 --> 01:31:12.750
And one of the things we have here is a lot of salt water.
01:31:13.200 --> 01:31:15.670
We do have a desalination plant.
01:31:15.670 --> 01:31:18.690
However, I think the technology exists
01:31:18.690 --> 01:31:21.960
that Edison could invest a bit of profit
01:31:21.960 --> 01:31:25.503
to provide us with desalinated water.
01:31:26.630 --> 01:31:29.490
That would solve the problem over the long run,
01:31:29.490 --> 01:31:32.350
it would be a more forward-thinking solution.
01:31:32.350 --> 01:31:35.130
Smart companies make capital investments that will
01:31:35.130 --> 01:31:37.350
resolve long-term problems
01:31:37.350 --> 01:31:42.140
and I feel Edison Company could look into this, at least,
01:31:42.140 --> 01:31:45.690
and provide an answer to the residents of Catalina.
01:31:45.690 --> 01:31:48.040
Another thing we have a lot of is sun
01:31:48.040 --> 01:31:51.090
and our electric rates are due to be increased.
01:31:51.090 --> 01:31:55.750
We have the technology, again, to probably invest
01:31:55.750 --> 01:32:00.750
in solar energy and, again, resolve this problem long-term
01:32:00.940 --> 01:32:04.250
and prevent Catalina from facing rate increase
01:32:04.250 --> 01:32:06.957
after rate increase after rate increase.
01:32:06.957 --> 01:32:07.790
Thank you.
01:32:10.360 --> 01:32:11.510
Thank you, Ms. McKay.
01:32:12.710 --> 01:32:15.430
Operator, are there any additional callers?
01:32:15.430 --> 01:32:17.780
There are no callers at this time.
01:32:20.780 --> 01:32:25.780
Okay, I think we will end the hearing here then.
01:32:26.980 --> 01:32:29.423
Thank you to everyone who participated today.
01:32:30.440 --> 01:32:33.120
If you would like to provide additional comments,
01:32:33.120 --> 01:32:34.820
you may submit written comments
01:32:34.820 --> 01:32:37.370
on the docket card for this proceeding,
01:32:37.370 --> 01:32:40.150
which can be found on the Commission's website
01:32:40.150 --> 01:32:45.150
at cpuc.ca.gov/a2010018comments.
01:32:55.900 --> 01:32:57.210
I'd also like to remind everyone
01:32:57.210 --> 01:32:59.830
that there's an additional Public Participation
01:32:59.830 --> 01:33:03.573
Hearing occurring today at 6:00 PM.
01:33:06.730 --> 01:33:09.373
For assistance with providing additional comments,
01:33:10.210 --> 01:33:12.610
please contact the Commission's Public
01:33:12.610 --> 01:33:17.610
Advisor's Office at public.advisor@cpuc.ca.gov.
01:33:28.300 --> 01:33:30.660
This concludes this afternoon's
01:33:30.660 --> 01:33:32.483
Public Participation Hearing.
01:33:33.800 --> 01:33:35.300
We will now be off the record.