COLUMBUS, Ind. — The Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor is recommending a slightly lower rate increase than what Columbus City Utilities originally requested.
The OUCC filed four pieces of testimony Friday regarding the rate case. Utility analyst Thomas Malan wrote in his testimony that while city utilities has requested a 79.46% increase over the course of three phases, he and the office of the utility consumer counselor recommend an overall rate increase of 74.02% (while still utilizing a phase schedule).
“Columbus requests an overall 79.46% increase to generate $3,533,277 of additional operating revenue per year,” he wrote. “Columbus proposes this increase be implemented in three phases — with a Phase 1 increase of 43.66%, a Phase 2 increase of 16.78%, and a Phase 3 increase of 6.97%.”
The office, however, is recommending “an overall revenue increase of 74.02% to produce additional water revenues of $3,291,402 per year,” Malan wrote. He recommended the following increases:
- 43.66% for Phase 1 (Aug. 1, 2021)
- 12.99% for Phase 2 (Jan. 1, 2023)
- 7.21% for Phase 3 (Jan. 1, 2024)
In addition to Malan’s report, three other pieces of testimony were filed by the OUCC, which represents consumer interests in cases before the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission. These testimonies included recommendations regarding revenue distribution between customer classes, borrowing, system development charges and the debt service reserve.
Utilities executive director Scott Dompke said that the department has talked with its rate consultants and attorneys and is reviewing the filed testimony.
For more on this story, see Wednesday’s Republic.
