(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 16-19, a water company, as defined in section 16-1, may charge rates in excess of or less than those approved by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, after a limited hearing as deemed appropriate by the authority, by adjusting existing rates to compensate for increases or decreases only in the company's following expenses: (1) The price of water purchased for redistribution to its customers from another water company or governmental authority whose rates have been adjusted; (2) the price of gas or electricity purchased from a gas or electric distribution company, electric supplier or governmental authority whose rates have been adjusted; (3) federal, state and local taxes or other government assessments on revenue, income or property; (4) fees charged by any federal or state agency or other government entity that has jurisdiction over the company; (5) fees, or changes in fees, charged for federal and state mandated monitoring of the quality of the company's water supply; and (6) changes in expenses due to inflation that, in the opinion of the authority, are subject to an inflation adjustment in rate schedule proceedings held pursuant to section 16-19. The amount of any adjustment of rates shall not exceed the aggregate net amount of increases and decreases in the expenses set forth in this subsection on an annualized basis, provided that such adjustment shall not cause the company's projected return on equity for the following twelve-month period to exceed the return on equity authorized in the company's most recent proceeding for an amendment of rates pursuant to section 16-19. A company may adjust its rates pursuant to this section only (A) when the aggregate effect of increases or decreases in such expenses equals or exceeds one half of one per cent of the company's operating revenues for the twelve-month period commencing after the authority issued a decision on the company's most recent application for an amendment of rates pursuant to section 16-19, and (B) once in any twelve-month period. A company shall not adjust its rates pursuant to this section in any twelve-month period following approval of an amendment of rates by the authority pursuant to section 16-19.
(b) A company applying to the authority for an adjustment of rates pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall include in its application (1) the amount by which each of the expenses set forth in subsection (a) of this section shall increase or decrease, (2) the basis for each such increase or decrease, (3) the total amount of the proposed adjustment of rates, (4) the proposed amount by which each class of customers' rates will increase or decrease, (5) the date the proposed adjusted rates will be in effect, (6) a sworn statement which attests to the accuracy of the figures and calculations upon which any proposed adjustment of rates is based and which states that the proposed adjustment will not cause the company to exceed the return on equity authorized in the company's most recent proceeding for an amendment of rates pursuant to section 16-19, and (7) a copy of the notice the company provided pursuant to subsection (c) of this section to all affected customers advising them of the proposed adjustment of rates. The authority may hold a public hearing not more than forty-five days after receiving an application for an adjustment of rates to verify the accuracy of the figures and calculations submitted to the authority by the company and to determine that such an adjustment shall not cause the company to exceed the return on equity authorized in the company's most recent proceeding for an amendment of rates pursuant to section 16-19. The authority shall review the complete application to determine whether the proposed adjustment of rates reflects prudent and efficient management of the company's operations in accordance with the criteria set forth in section 16-19e. The authority shall issue a decision on an application for an adjustment of rates not more than ninety days after the filing of the complete application. If, within fifteen months after the filing of a company's annual audit report, as required by section 16-32, the authority finds that the company exceeded the return on equity authorized in the company's most recent proceeding for an amendment of rates pursuant to section 16-19 because of an adjustment of rates made pursuant to this section, the authority shall order the company to refund, with interest and on an equitable basis, the amount realized by the company in excess of its return on equity authorized in the company's most recent proceeding for an amendment of rates pursuant to section 16-19 to its rate-paying customers and to adjust its rates as determined by the authority to be necessary to prevent the company from further exceeding its authorized rate of return.
(c) Before a company applies for an adjustment of rates pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, the company shall notify each customer who would be affected by the proposed adjustment, by mail, that the company is applying for an adjustment of rates, the total amount of the proposed adjustment, the amount by which each class of customers' rates would increase or decrease and the date the proposed adjusted rates would go into effect.
(P.A. 93-213; P.A. 96-153, S. 2; P.A. 98-28, S. 96, 117; P.A. 11-80, S. 1; P.A. 14-134, S. 66.)
History: P.A. 96-153 amended Subsec. (a) to add Subdivs. (5) and (6) re fees for mandated monitoring and inflation-caused expenses, to delete Subpara. (B) re one-year time limit for rate adjustments and to reletter Subpara. (C) accordingly, amended Subsec. (b) to add Subdiv. (7) requiring that copy of notice be sent to affected customers, to make technical changes and to increase time periods for department to hold public hearing and issue a decision, amended Subsec. (c) re notice to customers and deleted Subsec. (d) re exemption of requirements to class “A” water companies and filing of report by the department; P.A. 98-28 amended Subsec. (a) by adding electric distribution companies and electric suppliers, effective July 1, 1998; pursuant to P.A. 11-80, “Department of Public Utility Control” and “department” were changed editorially by the Revisors to “Public Utilities Regulatory Authority” and “authority”, respectively, effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 14-134 amended Subsec. (a) to delete reference to electric company, effective June 6, 2014.