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Hearing On Aloha Rate Increase Delayed

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By CHRISTIAN M. WADE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 29, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - A Florida Public Service Commission vote on Aloha Utilities' first round of proposed water rate increases has been postponed until next month.

The hearing, originally scheduled for today in Tallahassee, has been moved to Feb. 12, according to PSC spokesman Todd Brown.

"They needed additional time to gather information," Brown said. "It's not uncommon."

That's if the meeting venue isn't changed to west Pasco County.

State Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, has requested that the commission have the rate increase hearing here, and he also asked PSC chairman Matthew Carter to consider an enforcement action against the private utility.

Brown said the state regulatory body has not yet made a decision on the requests.

Steve Watford, Aloha's president, was unavailable for comment Monday.

Aloha said it needs to increase customer rates to recover the cost of buying bulk water from Pasco County and to cover a substantial rise in operating expenditures.

Among other expenses, the New Port Richey-based provider said it has secured a $20 million bond issue to buy county water and paid $4.9 million in county impact fees.

PSC staff has recommended the utility be allowed to raise rates, but in three stages during the next few years. The board was scheduled to vote on the first wave of increases today.

The staff suggestions would be less than what Aloha wants, but for some customers they could amount to an increase of more than 100 percent.

In 2001, the PSC rejected Aloha's request for a 55 percent boost to buy water from the county, leading to a series of legal challenges over interim rate refunds and a customer petition asking to be removed from the utility's service area.

Aloha appealed the decision, but a state court two years later upheld the commission's order and mandated refunds for hundreds of customers who paid an interim increase.

Five years later, the commission approved a settlement between Aloha and customer representatives aimed at ending chronic problems with black, sulfur-smelling water.

Under the deal, Aloha must install an anion exchange system, which has proven effective in removing hydrogen sulfide from water systems, at its five treatment plants. To do that, Aloha needs to buy bulk drinking water from the county to mix with its own.

Fasano and customer representatives contend the settlement is more than a year behind schedule and have ratcheted up the pressure on regulators to hold Aloha accountable.

Besides seeking an enforcement action against the embattled utility, Fasano also has asked state regulators to take away Aloha's franchise, called deletion of territory.

Reporter Christian M. Wade can be reached at (727) 815-1082 or cwade@tampatrib.com.

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