CPUC to Investigate San Jose Water Co.’s Billing Practices

State regulators have launched an investigation to determine whether the privately-owned San Jose Water Company over-billed customers for at least three decades.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) on Friday announced the probe after an initial report indicated that the company failed for 30-plus years to pro-rate invoices when charges increased in the middle of a billing cycle. Customers instead paid the higher rates for the whole cycle.

San Jose Water Co. also double-charged ratepayers by $5 million when transitioning from billing in advance to billing in arrears, according to the state commission.

The formal investigation—which can be tracked online here—will also determine whether San Jose Water refunds its one million customers in the South Bay in addition to paying financial penalties of up to $50,000-a-day per violation to the state.

Already, CPUC staff have recommended that San Jose Water give back $2 million to customers for overcharging them from 2014 to 2016 and another $1.9 million for excessive charges from 1987 to 2013.

The state commission began looking into the over-billing issue a year-and-a-half ago after Saratoga resident Rita Benton and fellow founders of a coalition called Water Rate Advocates for Transparency, Equity and Sustainability (WRATES) identified the excessive charges and lodged a complaint on behalf of 70 customers.

The city of San Jose, one of the company’s biggest customers, joined WRATES in pressuring the state to look into the billing issues.

San Jose Water quickly responded by agreeing to change its billing practices and return $1.8 million to customers for neglecting to pro-rate services charges from 2014 to 2016.

Benton estimates that the company owes a lot more: up to at least $13 million.

San Jose Water officials issued a statement affirming their cooperation with the state and chalking up the billing discrepancies to their interpretation of the rules at the time.

“While our past billing practice was in compliance with the rules as we interpreted them at that time, we also recognize that different interpretations may apply—and have since voluntarily updated our billing policies to reflect a more customer-oriented interpretation,” San Jose Water spokeswoman Jayme Ackemann wrote in a news release.

Eric Thornburg, the company’s new president and CEO, said he’s committed to earning back public trust. “We will continue to do everything that we can to further assist the CPUC on behalf of our customers,” he said.

Meanwhile, WRATES has been pushing back against yet another billing increase. San Jose Water is asking the CPUC for permission to up its rates by another 17. 8 percent over the next three years. An administrative law judge is expected to issue a proposed decision next month on the rate hike.

The CPUC will consider the recommendation before a final vote on Nov. 8.

In a separate matter, the California State Auditor is reviewing the CPUC’s rate-setting practices, a review that came about at behest of state Sen. Scott Wilk (R-Antelope Valley) and Assemblyman Tom Lackey (R-Palmdale).

9 Comments

  1. I love it! Those arrogant bas***rds at SJW are getting a dose of their own medicine. Can you believe how they blamed the infractions on their mis-interpretation?! One would have to be anencephalic to arrive at their conclusion!

    And now those greedy a**holes are asking the CPUC to approve a rate increase of 18% over the next three years. I think we must have the absolute worst water utility in the country!

  2. Unfortunately, I don’t think anything is going to happen here. CPUC rarely does anything more than a slap on the hand for these companies. The CPUC should be investigated as well.

  3. I don’t trust them at all. I am very careful about water use and received a bill for over $250 for July/Aug.
    Something is not right.

  4. CPUC will white wash this investigation like all the other cases brought before them in past years. Look who is on the CPUC and make your own conclusion. The fact that CPUC is being audited for their rate-setting policies speaks volumes as to the creditably of CPUC

  5. In the last 15 years, our bill has tripled with increasingly less consumption..
    I welcome the investigation.

  6. I agree with many of the above comments re: over billing!! Our bills constantly increased regardless of how much we had reduced our water use!!

    Yolanda

  7. I agree with all the work these ladies have done. I seem to think that their work is just part of the story. san jose water co buys from the santa clara valley water district, then adds its own profit on top as middleman. i would like to see the cost increases of water for the past 15 years from the wholesale supplier so I can make the sound judgment of whether these guys are all colluding to gouge us. I say the state ought to audit the books of the santa clara valley water district too so we can see the entire picture and not just blame one part of the supply chain.

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