Hazardville Water Company asked the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority on Dec. 4 for increases that company witnesses said would raise meter service charges by roughly 54%–68% and initial usage rates by about 69%.

The hearing’s cross-examination, led by PURA staff, focused on how the company allocated the requested increase among customer classes and whether the exhibits reflect revenues now collected from surcharges. PURA staff said several schedules (including E3.0 and E1.0) were not linking correctly for public-authority revenues and asked the company to file corrected exhibits and confirm any flow-through effects; the panel set a late-file update to schedule E3 in Late File 1 to resolve the discrepancy.

PURA staff also requested a comparison that includes current WICAA and RAM surcharges so the public can see the real bill impact customers are experiencing today; the company agreed to provide that comparison as Late File 47, using schedule E1.0 format. Company witnesses explained that pro forma exhibits in the filing omitted WICAA and RAM, which are currently billed to customers and would be reset to zero in a final rate order reconciliation process.

Company counsel and witnesses told the panel the revenue allocation was generally applied as an equal percentage increase across rate classes, with an intentional exception: the 5/8-inch residential meter service charge was increased at a lower rate (about 55%) “because that’s our biggest class,” the company said, to reduce direct residential bill impacts. Staff pressed for a narrative and supporting data showing how unrecovered amounts were then redistributed among other meter sizes.

The parties also confirmed the company has not commissioned an allocated cost-of-service study and said it has not been required to do so by the authority. PURA asked whether the company had considered the cost and benefits of such a study; the company said it had not obtained one to date and could research industry benchmarks on request.

Next steps: PURA directed the company to submit corrected schedules and supporting supplements (Late File 1 updates and Late File 47) and to confirm that any schedule changes are reflected across the revenue requirement and rate-design exhibits. The agency also reserved follow-up questions on revenue allocation and cost causation for the company to address in late-file materials.