WAPA, PSC working to streamline LEAC rate

The Water and Power Authority submitted a proposal to the Public Service Commission on Thursday that, if agreed upon, would alter the LEAC process and potentially bring continuity to the two agencies, which must work in tandem relative to electricity rates.

The current LEAC rate filing expired June 1, so the commission took action during the meeting and authorized a three-month continuance of the former filing with some requirements to be met by WAPA to ensure the currently charged rate has been assessed properly.

Residents power bills should remain the same, however, WAPA Executive Director Andrew Smith said if customers take issue with their bill at any time, for any reason, they can call the authority to lodge a complaint and the authority will “suspend required payment for that until we resolve the issue.”

At a Thursday meeting Smith said the “proposed minimum filing requirement that will govern the LEAC process going forward” was submitted Wednesday to the commission and that both WAPA and the PSC have felt “that the process that was previously used was not as effective as we desired it to be.”

The Authority, Smith said, has been collaborating with staff for months “to drive a proposal that outlines the steps to be taken to calculate the LEAC, as well as supporting schedules that will be submitted as part of the LEAC filing.”

Commission Chairman David Hughes said it was only in April that “we finally realized how cumbersome the LEAC process was and I think all parties desired something that could happen more easily, more quickly, more cleanly so it would be more relevant to the current rates.”

WAPA and PSC have had “long conversations” Hughes said, “to arrive at a streamline process so it can happen more easily and frankly more accurately. It’s probably continued longer than any of us would have liked but it seems like we’re nearing its conclusion.”

At Thursday’s meeting Smith pointed out that although the change may streamline the process, and WAPA is not currently requesting a LEAC rate increase or reduction, it doesn’t mean the authority is profitable as revenues are “basically flat.”