Notice of Public Hearing – Kaupulehu Waste Water Company Rate Increase (Docket No. 2023-0456)

The State of Hawaii Public Utilities Commission will conduct a public hearing regarding Kaupulehu Waste Water Company's ("KWWC") request for a general rate increase and changes in its Rules and Regulations on Monday, May 5, 2025, 5:30 p.m. at the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority (NELHA) in Kona. All are invited to attend the public hearing and state their views on the application or submit comments, which is further described below.

Public Hearing Information

Special assistance: If you require other auxiliary aids/services or other accommodations, contact the PUC at (808) 586-2020, or [email protected]as soon as possible. Requests made as early as possible have a greater likelihood of being fulfilled.

Brief Summary of Application

KWWC is a public utility that provides wastewater utility services in Kaupulehu, Hawaii County, Hawaii, and whose customers include a hotel, commercial establishments, condominium units, detached and attached single family residential units, and golf course comfort stations in the Hualalai Resort.

KWWC asserts that its current rates do not now and will not in the foreseeable future produce sufficient revenues to allow it to recover its prudently incurred operating costs and that KWWC has been operating at a net loss for at least the last five years. KWWC states that since its last rate case over twenty years ago, it has made capital improvements and plans to make additional capital improvements which are prudent and necessary to meet the current needs of its customers.

KWWC is requesting an increase of its annual revenue by $1,164,012, or 141% through the following changes to its rates:

KWWC also requests that, to the extent that HRS § 269-19.5 is applicable, the Commission approve the transfer of various assets from KWWC's owner Hualalai Investors, LLC to KWWC.

Finally, KWWC is requesting several typological revisions to its Rules and Regulations, as well as the following changes to its Rules and Regulations:

• Rule VI.12 (Credit Deposit): Remove the interest on customer deposits and replace with a provision requiring an increased credit deposit amount from customers whose service has been shut off due to nonpayment of the customer's wastewater bills, as well as to make other corrective changes;
• Rule VIII (Payment of Bills): Establish a $35 charge for returned checks;
• Rule XII (Restoration of Wastewater Services): Increase the charge for restoration of service from $100.00 to $200.00. This change would also be made to the Important Shut-Off Notice for Nonpayment of Wastewater Bill (Exhibit C) and Important Shut-Off Notice for violation of Rules and Regulations (Exhibit D);
• Rule XIV.2 (Obstructions): Expand and clarify that obstructions include landscaping and that a customer is required to remove obstructions;
• Rule XXIII.5 (Taxes on Payments): Require a customer to pay the applicable income taxes on contributions in aid of construction under a specific identified situation;
• Rule XXVI.1 (Automatic Power Cost Adjustment Charge): Revise and update the base amount used to compute the automatic power cost adjustment charge to reflect electrical cost increases experienced by KWWC from the previous base established in the last rate case proceeding, and change the adjustment computation from tri-annual to quarterly.

To view the full Application and all docketed documents, see the "DOCUMENTS" tab for Docket No. 2023-0456.

The Commission will investigate whether KWWC's proposal in the application is just and reasonable.

Public Comments and Statements

Comments may be submitted in writing or given orally during the hearing. All written comments will be publicly accessible on the PUC's Case and Document Management System.

• COMMENTS DURING THE HEARING:
  Persons wishing to give oral comments should register at the time of the hearing. Submission of written comments in addition to giving oral comments is highly encouraged.

• WRITTEN COMMENTS:
  All written comments should reference Docket No. 2023-0456 and include the author's name and the entity or organization that the author represents, if any. Submit written public comments via the following methods:
  • Online at:
    https://hpuc.my.site.com/cdms/s/consumers/public-comments
  • E-mail at:
    [email protected]
  • Mail to:
    Hawaii Public Utilities Commission
    465 South King St., #103
    Honolulu, Hawaii 96813

MORE INFORMATION:

• Notice of Public Hearing

• Docket No. 2023-0456