A2007012 - Public Comments

I oppose the rate increase and believe the Public Utilities Commission's scrutiny should be focused on how GSW bills its customers. I had a meter installed in late July 2021 and have never received a metered rate bill. In November, I received my third bi-monthly bulk rate bill since having the meter installed. It is for the period from 10/27/21 through 12/27/21. I have been told by GSW that they needed to get their metering software calibrated, synchronized, and/or updated to read water usage correctly and refusal to pay the bulk rate bill would prove more difficult for me when they prorate the bill. I believe they will not prorate my water bill and will simply keep the overage .

This company charges at least 2 to 3 times more for water then other water companies in California, we have friends that live in Las Vegas that have a pool and a lawn and their bill runs around $50 dollars a month. Why does this company need a raise !!? I have a friend that lives near me that is building a new house, they wanted $90,000.00 dollars to hook the water up to his house, then they came down to $78,000.00 Big Whoop.. THIS IS HIGHWAY ROBBERY!! The purpose of the PUC is to protect us from companies like this. Please protect us. Thank You

Today I have an opportunity to watch a water line upgrade in progress, on my street. What I am witnessing speaks to the issue of company management which may be the reason for the high costs we pay. As I watch, a contractor is doing the work of replacing the line, which they have been working on and they appear pretty efficient. What troubles me are the 3 men from GSW that are on site today, presumably to supervise the laying of the pipeline they are doing today. I could understand having one person out to see that it's done correctly but they are paying 3 men to stand around and talk about the plans. Possibly if GSW needs more money for infrastructure, they should first examine their operations to see where they can cut unnecessary costs...

I never received notice of my community hearing. I only found out when I received notice of the transcript having been posted to the record. I cannot help but to wonder, how many others never received notice of their hearing. As a small business owner and having previously run operations for a large business in the midwest, it seems to me that there is poor management happening at an organization where a 22.5% rate increase is needed over a 3 year period. My number one question is, "why now and why so much in a short time?" If budgets, infrastructure and planning were competently managed, the need for upgrades should have been known well before now. It is not the fault of the GSW customers that repair and maintenance planning was not competently handled in the past. If the customers are being forced, not asked, to pay nearly $90 million over their current costs, how much will those responsible for the poor management be made to put up? Will there be or has there been any accountability? Has there been or will there be an internal inquiry to determine why all of the "disrepair" has been allowed to happen and not be addressed? If this were my business and my staff responsible for equipment maintenance were to come to me asking for a 22+% increase in budget over 3 years, because suddenly there were a lot of repairs needed, the employment of those individuals would be on the line...as would my business. We all know that the buck stops at the top so I ask, who is going to be held responsible besides we, the customers of Golden State Water??? I don't mind and in fact, I would expect a small increase from time to time. Costs are always increasing. This request though, is absolutely outrageous and should unequivically be denied by the commission. This private company needs to handle the problems they have created, not put it on the shoulders of their customers. Especially when we don't have a choice. It's not like we can go out shopping for another water supplier. And what will happen to that additional $82+ million every year, after year 3? Will it go to bonuses and salary increases? Probably. Better benefits? Maybe. Will we see a decrease once the repairs are complete? I don't think so. Our government handed the water supply responsibility over to this private utility, now the state needs to hold them accountable, as they themselves would have been accountable to elected officials and in turn taxpayers, had they retained control. At a time when businesses and individual families are struggling to get back on track, this huge increase is the last thing needed. Maybe someone was bored during lockdown and needed something to do so, they decided to dream this up...I don't know. It would be inappropriate at any time to request more than a 4% rate increase in a given year, let alone at the close of a global pandemic that shut down businesses and put countless out of work.

Although I appreciate that GWS is looking for the means of bringing higher quality water, I think this is not the right time for this if it’s going to cost us more money. There are still people out of work. For those of us still working, many of us are not getting raises that equate to the rise in prices. The prices of essentials like gasoline have been going up, but our wages are not. The percentages they are proposing are quite dramatic. During the Region 2 Hearing, one gentleman referred to the fact that GSW is asking us to use less water if our rates go up, but we are in fact already doing that. And this is true in our household, and that of our neighbors’. It makes the people in the community wonder if improving infrastructure were not the only reason that GSW is asking for more money. Given the COVID situation, fewer people are taking showers or watering their plants to curb general expenses. And if GSW is attempting to make up for losses they might have suffered from that situation, then they are in fact penalizing the customers for doing the very thing they ask of us if our bills become too high. We in the community of Artesia do believe that that is something that needs to be looked into.

These people are nothing but CROOKS, every couple of years they want another HUGE RAISE ! Please don't pass this!! GSWC rates were too high 10 years ago and they have just kept increasing them every couple of years. Private Companies need to stay out of the water business. Thank You

Public Utilities serve the the public. Get rid of the private company which needs to make a profit and sell it to the state who can better manage costs over time. This company has been raising rates for several years and still delivering awful water quality to Orcutt. We have no choice as there is only one provider. Maybe because it is a monopoly it can do whatever it wants. I have a fixed income which is a hair above qualifying for public assistance for utility bills. This rate hike is ridiculously high. They appear to me to be bad managers of this most precious resource and need to turn it over to someone who will give it the care it needs. I CAN'T AFFORD THIS!