Public Comment & Hearing - W-20446A-25-0022 - Global Water - Santa Cruz Water Company, Inc. SW-20445A-25-0023 - Global Water-Palo Verde Utilities Company

meeting

Arizona Corporation Commission 1h 31m 1 speaker 8 agenda items transcribed 3 hours ago official recording ↗

▲ 0

Transcript

jump: agenda · speakers · find in transcript

Transcript

Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.

What is the purpose of the public comment hearing and who are the parties involved?

Chris Nichols 0:01

All right, I've got ten o'clock, so uh let's get started. We'll go on the record. Good morning everyone. This is the time set for a public comment and hearing in the consolidated matter of the applications of Global Water, Santa Cruz Water Company Inc., and Global Water Palo Verde Utilities Company Inc. For the establishment of just and reasonable rates and charges for utility service designed to realize a reasonable rate of return on the fair value of their property and for certain related approvals. Docket number W two zero four four six A twenty five zero zero two two and SW two zero four four five A twenty five zero zero two three. I'm administrative law judge Chris Nichols and I have been assigned to preside over this matter.

Chris Nichols 0:56

And let's go ahead and take appearances of the parties beginning with the applicants.

Robert Metley 1:00

Good morning, Your Honor. Robert Metley, um Regulatory Counsel for Global Water Resources Inc., on behalf of Global Water Santa Cruz Water Company, Inc. and Global Water Palo Verde Utilities Company Inc. With me at the table is my ko council Michael Паттен. Law firm of Snell and Wilmer. We also have our Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Chris Krieger, at the table. And I also want to point out in the room we have our President and CEO Ron Fleming, as well as our chief financial officer Mike Liedman, sitting on the side.

Chris Nichols 1:36

Good morning all. And for Ruco.

Daniel Pazowski 1:40

Morning, Your Honor, Daniel Pazowski and Sarah Baris Cool Faruko. Good morning. For staff.

Bridget Humphrey 1:48

Good morning, Your Honor. Bridget Humphrey and Robert Right now are on behalf of staff.

Chris Nichols 1:52

Good morning. All right. Well, we have some housekeeping to do. Um first and foremost we have a joint motion to continue filed by staff and the companies, uh as well as uh quite recently staff's motion in Lemine. Uh

Bridget Humphrey 2:08

actually uh I d me interrupt you, Your Honor. Um That's my backup and uh my legal assistant inadvertently filed it. So she has called down to docket and and asked that that not be um submitted at this point. So my th I'm hoping that will go away. But that but I've got it here if we need it.

Chris Nichols 2:29

Uh understood. And I I I have read it and I did take it as a a a backup uh in any event. So um all right, so let's begin with the the motion to continue. Um My understanding is that RUCO may oppose the motion to continue, but uh I will first give uh the movements an opportunity to expand on the joint motion and then uh we'll hear from RUCO. So uh Ms. Humphrey, I imagine that um staff was primarily responsible for the motion to continue, so I'll let you uh speak first.

Bridget Humphrey 2:58

Certainly, Your Honor, thank you. Um yes, we learned well, I learned on Thursday afternoon and I think there may have been a meeting the day before, uh, where staff learned that the company had a significant amount of documentation that they wanted to uh add or present to staff for evaluation. Uh and then when I read the rejoinder testimony of Mr. Kriger, uh that testimony discusses the additional documentation, which appears to be voluminous. The company's suggestion was that we proceed with the hearing at that point and then these documents would be submitted later for staff to review and then staff could file New schedules. My understanding from talking to staff, and staff has not yet had a chance to look at them, is that it's going to take staff approximately two months to go through all of these documents.

Bridget Humphrey 3:50

They are extremely voluminous. I think there was a joking comment made during uh the meeting between the staff uh employees and the company's employees where they were referred to millions, which we take to be hyperbole, but they're they are they are extensive and uh staff is concerned that it appears that the um the current amount that the company is seeking to include and plant on the Southwest Plant is about seven million and these documents may bump it up to forty million. So we're not talking just a little bit of supplemental information. We're talking a great deal more information. А стаф до тінь водія то. to handle the matter in just allowing late filed exhibits and and new schedules.