A small not-for-profit sewer utility serving about 62 residents in the Hillview Estates Subdivision is seeking to more than double its monthly rate.
The Hillview Estates Subdivision Utilities has filed a rate increase application with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) to increase its monthly rate from $30 to $64.17, which represents a 114 percent increase, according to filing documents.
Residents in the subdivision, which is near Mt. Healthy School southwest of Columbus, have water provided by Southwestern Bartholomew Water Corp., but has its own sewage disposal system.
Hillview Estates consists of homes in the area of Hillview Drive, many valued in the $100,000 range.
The application for the rate increase was filed by utilities president Merrill Henderson and secretary Jessica Pendleton, according to filing documents provided by the state.
The state’s Office of Utility Consumer Counselor is inviting written consumer comments about the rate request through Nov. 6 and plans to file its testimony and recommendations with the utility regulator commission Nov. 13.
The utility’s current sewer rates received IURC approval in 1989, according to the filing. The utility is citing increased operating and maintenance costs as the need for the increase.
The subdivision utility’s rate request is being handled through the state’s Small Utility Filing Procedure, which is available to utilities with fewer than 5,000 customers, according to the utility consumer counselor’s office. The procedure allows smaller utilities to reduce the time and expense involved with regulatory filings by using standardized forms rather than using rate consultants and attorneys.
In a letter to utility customers, Henderson and Pendleton said it is unlikely there will be a public hearing about the rate-increase application. The utility is still required to make its case in writing and has the same burden of proof that is required in any rate case.
Sheri Nichalson, former secretary-treasurer for the utility who has lived in Hillview Estates since the mid-1970s, said the increase isn’t quite the same as what is being shown in the request, as sometime after 1989 the utility raised its rates to $50 a month. However, that increase was never sent through the IURC as a rate-increase request, she said.
The utility had the choice of backing down the rate amount to $30 a monthly or seeking the rate increase through the state, she said.
Henderson, president of the utility, said unfortunately, it was true that the utility’s board’s action in 2010 to raise the rate to $50 a month for the customers did not go through the commission and therefore needed to go before the commission before the utility could continue to charge that much.
Now the utility has dropped the rate back to $30 per month amount, and is seeking the rate increase, he said. However, he had thought the rate increase was only back to the $50 per month amount, and said he would be checking that with board members about the $64.17 monthly rate in the filing papers.
Even at $50 a month, the 62 customers are only bringing in $3,100 a month or a little more than $37,000 a year, according to utility balance sheets. In financial reports filed with the commission, several accounts are projected to be running in negative balances without the rate increase.
If the rate had still been $50 a month, the proposed increase would be 28 percent.
Henderson said Hillview’s sewage treatment plant dates back to about 1972 and was in disrepair for some time, before new board members worked to upgrade equipment and hire an employee to handle operations and maintenance.
“It’s back in good shape now,” Henderson said.
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Written consumer comments about the proposed rate increase are due by Nov. 6.
Consumers who wish to submit a comment may do so through the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer counselor website at: in.gov/oucc/2361.htm or by email at [email protected].
Comments may be submitted by mail at Consumer Services Staff, Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor, 115 W. Washington St., Suite 1500 South, Indianapolis, Indiana 46204.
Comments should include the consumer’s name, mailing address, and a reference to "IURC Cause No. 45132-U."
State officials request that consumers do not include account numbers, Social Security numbers or any other sensitive information.
For more information about how to submit comments, call 888-441-2494.
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