Kentucky Administrative Regulations
Title 807 - ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT CABINET PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION
Chapter 5 - Utilities
Section 807 KAR 5:075 - Treated sewage adjustment for water districts and water associations
Universal Citation: 807 KY Admin Regs Service 5:075
Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, December 1, 2023
RELATES TO: KRS 65.810, Chapter 74, 278.010, 278.012, 278.015, 278.030, 278.040
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY: KRS 278.030(1) requires that all rates charged by a utility subject to the jurisdiction of the Public Service Commission shall be fair, just, and reasonable. This administrative regulation establishes the requirements under which a water district or a water association may implement a treated sewage adjustment to recover the costs of treated sewage.
Section 1. Definitions.
(1) "Application" means:
(a) A completed Treated Sewage Adjustment
Form 1;
(b) A schedule listing
current and proposed rates;
(c) A
copy of the provider's notice showing a change in provider's base
rate;
(d) The calculation and all
supporting documents used to determine the change in treated sewage costs
sufficient to determine the accuracy of the calculation; and
(e) A copy of the resolution or other
document of the utility's governing body authorizing the proposed
rates.
(2) "Changed
rate" means the rate of a utility's provider after the most recent increase or
decrease in the provider's base rate.
(3) "Commission" is defined by
KRS
278.010(15).
(4) "Person" is defined by
KRS
278.010(2).
(5) "Provider's base rate" means the rate of
a utility's provider in effect immediately prior to the most recent increase or
decrease.
(6) "Tariff" means the
schedules of a utility's rates, charges, regulations, rules, tolls, terms, and
conditions of service over which the commission has jurisdiction.
(7) "Utility" means:
(a) A water association formed as a
non-profit corporation, association, or cooperative corporation having as its
purpose the furnishing of sewage service; or
(b) A water district formed pursuant to
KRS
65.810 and KRS Chapter 74.
(8) "Web site" means an
identifiable site on the Internet, including social media, which is accessible
to the public.
Section 2. Change in Provider's Base Rate.
(1) Upon an increase in its provider's base
rate, a utility may, without prior commission approval, increase each of its
rate schedules by a treated sewage adjustment factor determined in accordance
with Section 3 of this administrative regulation to pass through its increased
treated sewage costs to its customers on a per unit basis regardless of
customer classification.
(2) Upon a
decrease in the provider's base rate, a utility that has previously revised its
rates pursuant to this administrative regulation shall decrease each of its
rate schedules by a treated sewage adjustment factor determined in accordance
with Section 3 of this administrative regulation to pass through its decreased
treated sewage costs on a per unit basis regardless of customer
classification.
Section 3. Treated Sewage Adjustment Factor.
(1) The treated sewage adjustment factor to
adjust a utility's rate to reflect a change in the utility's base rate shall be
determined using the following formula:
(2)
The treated sewage adjustment factor shall be expressed in cents per gallons or
cubic feet, depending upon the unit of measure that the utility bases its
customer bills.
(3) Total treated
sewage shall be determined based upon the level of treated sewage for a period
of twelve (12) consecutive months ending within ninety (90) days immediately
prior to the effective date of the utility rate adjustment month
period.
(4)
(a) Total utility water sales shall be
determined based upon the level of water sales for a period of twelve (12)
consecutive months ending within ninety (90) days immediately prior to the
effective date of the utility rate adjustment month period.
(b) If the utility bases its customer
billings on a flat rate in lieu of a volumetric rate, the total number of
customers or residential equivalents billed for the period shall be
used.
(5) The same
twelve (12) month period shall be used to determine total treated sewage and
total utility water sales.
Section 4. Submitting the Treated Sewage Adjustment Application.
(1) A utility adjusting its rates pursuant to
this administrative regulation shall submit an application to the commission.
(2) The application shall be
submitted:
(a) In accordance with
807 KAR 5:001,
Sections 7 and 8; and
(b) No
earlier than thirty (30) days prior to the proposed effective date of the
provider's changed rate and no later than twenty (20) days after the utility,
without prior commission approval, adjusts its rates to reflect the change in
its treated sewage costs due to the provider's changed rate.
Section 5. Notice. Upon filing an application for a treated sewage adjustment resulting from a provider's increased rate, a utility shall provide notice as follows:
(1) Public postings.
(a) A utility shall post at its place of
business a copy of the notice no later than the date the application is
submitted to the commission or the date the utility adjusts its rates,
whichever occurs first.
(b) A
utility that maintains a Web site shall, within five (5) business days of the
date the application is submitted to the commission or the date the utility
adjusts its rates, whichever occurs first, post on its Web sites:
1. A copy of the public notice; and
2. A hyperlink to the location on the
commission's Web site where the case documents are available.
(c) The information required in
paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subsection shall not be removed until the
commission issues a final decision on the application.
(2) Customer Notice.
(a) If a utility has twenty (20) or fewer
customers, it shall mail a written notice to each customer no later than the
issuance of the first bill at the increased rate.
(b) If a utility has more than twenty (20)
customers, it shall provide notice by:
1.
Including notice with customer bills mailed no later than the issuance of the
first bill at the increased rate;
2. Mailing a written notice to each customer
no later than the issuance of the first bill at the increased rate;
3. Publishing notice one (1) time in a
prominent manner in a newspaper of general circulation in the utility's service
area no later than the issuance of the first bill at the increased rate;
or
4. Publishing notice in a trade
publication or newsletter delivered to all customers no later than the issuance
of the first bill at the increased rate.
(c) A utility that provides service in more
than one (1) county may use a combination of the notice methods listed in
paragraph (b) of this subsection.
(3) Proof of Notice. A utility shall file
with the commission no later than thirty (30) days from the date of the
commission's order approving an adjustment to the utility's rates pursuant to
this administrative regulation:
(a) If notice
is mailed to its customers, an affidavit from an authorized representative of
the utility verifying the contents of the notice, that notice was mailed to all
customers, and the date of the mailing;
(b) If notice is published in a newspaper of
general circulation in the utility's service area, an affidavit from the
publisher verifying the contents of the notice, that the notice was published,
and the date of the notice's publication; or
(c) If notice is published in a trade
publication or newsletter delivered to all customers, an affidavit from an
authorized representative of the utility verifying the contents of the notice,
the mailing of the trade publication or newsletter, that notice was included in
the publication or newsletter, and the date of mailing.
(4) Notice Content. Each notice issued in
accordance with this section shall contain:
(a) The effective date;
(b) The present rates and proposed rates for
each customer classification to which the proposed rates will apply;
(c) The amount of the change requested in
both dollar amounts and percentage change for each customer classification to
which the proposed rates will apply;
(d) The amount of the average usage and the
effect upon the average bill for each customer classification to which the
proposed rates will apply;
(e) A
statement that a person may examine this application at the offices of (utility
name) located at (utility address); and
(f) A statement that a person may examine
this application at the commission's offices located at 211 Sower Boulevard,
Frankfort, Kentucky, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., or through
the commission's Web site at http://psc.ky.gov.
Section 6. Orders of the Commission.
(1) Within thirty (30) days of the
submission of an application in accordance with this administrative regulation,
the commission shall enter its order approving or denying the proposed rates or
establishing revised rates.
(2)
Within twenty (20) days of the date of the commission's order, the utility
shall submit its revised tariff sheet in accordance with
807 KAR 5:011
establishing the rates approved by the commission.
(3) If the utility publishes notice of the
proposed rates and the commission enters an order requiring different rates,
the utility shall publish notice of the commission ordered rates in the manner
established in Section 5(2) of this administrative regulation.
Section 7. Refund from a Provider.
(1) A utility that receives a refund from its
provider for previously paid for treated sewage due to a reduction in the
provider's rate shall notify the commission in writing of this refund within
twenty (20) days of receipt of the refund and shall distribute the refund to
its customers by reducing each of its rate schedules by a refund factor
determined in accordance with subsection (2) of this section. The notice to the
commission shall include:
(a) A description of
the circumstances surrounding the refund;
(b) A schedule showing the calculation of the
refund factor;
(c) A copy of the
provider's notice of the refund; and
(d) All supporting documents used to
determine the refund factor in detail sufficient to determine the accuracy of
the calculation.
(2)
Refund factor.
(a) The refund factor shall be
determined using the following formula:
(b)
The refund factor shall be expressed in cents per gallons or cubic feet,
depending upon the unit of measure that the utility bases its customer
bills.
(c) Estimated total utility
water sales shall be determined based upon the estimated level of water sales
for the two (2) month period beginning the first day of the month following the
utility's receipt of the refund. If the utility bases its customer billings on
a flat rate in lieu of a volumetric rate, the estimated total number of
customers or residential equivalents billed for the period shall be
used.
(3) Effective with
meter readings taken on and after the first day of the second month following
receipt of the refund, the utility shall reduce each of its rate schedules by
the refund factor when calculating customer bills for the next two (2) billing
periods.
(4) If the commission
determines that the utility has inaccurately calculated the refund, the
commission shall direct the utility to make revisions to the utility's refund
plan.
Section 8. Deviations from Rules. In special cases, for good cause shown, the commission shall permit deviations from this administrative regulation.
Section 9. Incorporation by Reference.
(1) "Treated Sewage Adjustment Form 1", July
2014, is incorporated by reference.
(2) This material may be inspected, copied,
or obtained, subject to applicable copyright law, at the commission's offices
located at 211 Sower Boulevard, Frankfort, Kentucky, Monday through Friday,
8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., or through the commission's Web site at
http://psc.ky.gov.
12 Ky.R. 1965; 13 Ky.R. 235; eff. 7-2-1986; 40 Ky.R. 488; 822; eff. 10-18-2013; 153; 492; eff. 10-31-2014; Crt eff. 3-27-2019.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: KRS 278.012, 278.015, 278.030(1), 278.040(3)
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Kentucky may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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