ALBANY, NY — The New York State Public Service Commission (Commission) today announced it is seeking comment on a rate proposal that was filed by Suez Water New York Inc. (SWNY or Suez) on February 26, 2016. In the filing, SWNY proposes, among other things, to increase its annual revenues by roughly $11.6 million, an increase of 13.7 percent to total revenues, for the rate year ending January 31, 2018.
The public will have an opportunity to present comments on the proposal at four separate hearings before an Administrative Law Judge assigned by the Commission to hear the case. A verbatim transcript of the hearings will be made for inclusion in the record of the proceeding. The public statement hearings will be held as follows:
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
Location: Stony Point Community Center (Rho Building), 5 Clubhouse Lane, Stony Point, NY 10980
Information Session: 2:00 PM Information Session
Public Statement Hearing: 3:00 PM
Information Session: 6:00 PM
Public Statement Hearing: 7:00 PM
Thursday, June 16, 2016
Location: Rockland Community College, Technology Center, Ellipse Room 8180, 145 College Road
Suffern, NY 10901
Information Session: 2:00 PM
Public Statement Hearing: 3:00 PM
Information Session: 6:00 PM
Public Statement Hearing: 7:00 PM
Direct testimony is due to be filed by DPS trial staff and other parties on July 1; rebuttal testimony is due on July 15. The Commission may adopt, adopt with changes, or reject the SWNY rate proposals, with any rates required to take effect on or by January 24, 2017.
In order to provide individuals with information in advance of the public statement hearings, information sessions will be conducted during the hour preceding the public statement hearings. During these sessions, SWNY representatives will provide a brief overview of SWNY’s rate proposal. In addition, an Administrative Law Judge will provide a brief overview of the rate case process. These presentations will be followed by a brief opportunity for questions and answers. Each information session will conclude at least five minutes before the public statement hearing is scheduled to commence.
It is not necessary to make an appointment in advance, or to present written material to speak at the hearing. Persons will be called to speak after completing a request card. The public statement hearing will be held open for a minimum of one hour, and will be kept open until everyone wishing to speak has been heard or other reasonable arrangements have been made to include their comments in the record. A verbatim transcript of the hearing will be made for inclusion in the record of this proceeding.
Disabled persons requiring special accommodations should call the Department of Public Service’s Human Resources Management Office at (518) 474-2520 as soon as possible. TDD users may request a sign language interpreter by placing a call through the New York Relay Service at 711. Individuals with difficulty understanding or reading English are encouraged to call the Commission at 1-800-342-3377 for free language assistance services regarding this notice.
In addition to the formal hearings, members of the public may deliver comments on these proceedings as follows:
Other Ways to Comment
For those who cannot attend or prefer not to speak at a public statement hearing, there are several other ways to send comments to the Commission regarding this proposal. Comments should refer to “Case 16-W-0130 – Suez Water NY – Water Rates.”
Internet or Mail: Go to the Web site (www.dps.ny.gov), click on “Search,” enter the case number (16-W-0130), and then click on “Post Comments” at the top of the page. Alternatively, e-mail comments may be sent directly to the Secretary to the Commission at secretary@dps.ny.gov or they may be mailed or delivered to Hon. Kathleen H. Burgess, Secretary, Public Service Commission, Three Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York 12223-1350. All written comments will become part of the record in this proceeding and will be reported to the Commission for its consideration. All submitted comments may be accessed on the Commission’s Web site. Many libraries offer free Internet access.
Toll-Free Opinion Line: You may call the Commission’s Opinion Line at 1-800-335-2120. This number is set up to take comments about pending cases from in-State callers, 24 hours a day. These comments are not transcribed verbatim, but a summary is provided to the Commission.
Comments submitted via these alternate means are requested by June 17, 2016. SWNY’s application may be viewed online (go to www.dps.ny.gov, and then search using case number “16-W-0130”).