Nye County submits comments questioning proposed utility rate hike

Nye County condemned a proposed Great Basin Water Company rate hike in its comments to the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada.

Great Basin Water Company, formerly known as Utilities, Inc. of Central Nevada, recently requested to increase its monthly rates for water and sewer service to recover money for completed projects.

Commissioner Dan Schinhofen, who submitted comments on behalf of the county, said that the rate case will impact the financial well-being of many residents and “adversely” affect economic development in Nye County, since the majority of commercial and industrial land is located within the Great Basin territory.

The company has increased its rates by more than 100 percent in the last 10 years, Schinhofen said. He also said that it exceeds the inflation rates of other utilities in Nye County.

“Nye County does not have the staff or resources to fully audit all of the financial data needed to fully evaluate this and prior rate cases,” Schinhofen said.

Schinhofen asked the PUCN to focus on legal fees and engineering review fees.

“Great Basin sued Nye County multiple times over the last three years. Legal fees can be a normal operating cost, but frivolous suits against Nye County and others, name changes and punitive attacks should be excluded from rate increases,” Schinhofen said.

He also argued that “many, if not all”applications for new service are by third-party engineers.

“Reports from new or expansions for businesses have indicated the review fees are more than the original design fees. Nye County uses outside engineering firms for reviews at much lower costs,” Schinhofen said.

In addition, Schinhofen said that the development of Discovery Park, formerly known as Willow Creek Golf Course, should be a “charitable endeavor” by Great Basin Water Company and no expenses should be charged to ratepayers.

Great Basin Water Company filed its response to Nye County comments on Feb. 22.

“While we certainly believe fully in the county’s right to speak on behalf of its citizens, we are asking the commission to recognize that the three assertions made by the Nye petition are simply not true,” said Tom Oakley, spokesman for the Great Basin Water Company.

The company argued that Nye County’s assertion that the rate increases are excessive “is without merit.”

The company said that all prior and any future rate increases are established only after a full vetting by the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada and the Bureau of Consumer Protection’s “extensive discovery,” a consumer session, and oftentimes, a public hearing.

Great Basin Water Company also said that it purchased the golf course property, not as a charitable effort, but pursuant to the Chapter 11 plan as drafted by U.S. bankruptcy court as a means to remediate the site given the necessity for the continued operation of wastewater treatment plant No. 3, located on the property.

Contrary to Nye County’s assertion, Great Basin Water Company has initiated litigation in a manner that can only be described as “careful, judicious and conscious of court and the parties’ resources,” according to the documents.

Nye County will submit additional comments as topics in the submitted docket are addressed.

Contact reporter Daria Sokolova at dsokolova@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @dariasokolova77