Water company serving Boise area wants to raise rates again. Here’s how much, and why
The water company serving most of the Boise area wants to raise its rates again.
Veolia, a French company and one of the world’s largest water utilities, filed an application with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission to increase its rates in the Treasure Valley by over 20%. The company said in a news release that it spent $74 million on customer improvements since Jan. 1 — money it hopes to recoup.
It said the investments, which amount to about $685 per customer, have improved water quality, safety and service reliability. The release cited several of the company’s larger upgrades, which together add up to less than $24 million.
If the request is approved as is, the average residential customer would see the monthly bill rise by $6.77 a month, or 20.5%, according to the filing. The increase would be phased in over two years, with 70% of the increase taking effect Dec. 23 and the rest taking effect a year later on Dec. 23, 2025.
The Public Utilities Commission can approve, deny or modify the application.
Under its current rates, Veolia has an annual rate of return, or profit, of about 4.8% based on the year ending Aug. 31, the filing said. The proposed increase would increase the company’s rate of return to nearly 7.5%.
“(Veolia) seeks additional revenues to recover increased operating expenses and costs associated with plant additions, and to produce a fair rate of return, thereby enabling it to continue to provide adequate and reliable service to its customers,” the application said.
Less than two years ago, Veolia won approval from the PUC to raise rates by over 7%, though it had initially asked for more than 24%. Residential customers saw an average increase of $2.21 on their monthly bills.
Dozens of customers opposed the increase. In that case, the company made a similar argument — saying in September 2022 that it had spent $70 million on customer improvements in the Treasure Valley in the two years prior. Veolia cited the cost of buying Eagle Water Co. for $10.5 million as part of that total.
Some of the line items Veolia listed in that request appeared again in its latest application, including the price of a new vactor truck (a truck with a pump and a tank that cleans out underground pipes) and upgrades to the Columbia Water Treatment Plant in Southeast Boise. The company said in its last rate case that it added storage capacity to the treatment plant in the form of a $3.5 million new water tank. This time, it cited a $9.4 million expansion and filter replacements.
In the last year, the company said it also spent about $4.6 million in Southwest Boise to install new pipes along Five Mile Road and nearly $2.4 million to add a new booster station and pressure-reducing valve in the Sage Acres area.
“We continue to increase the resilience of the state’s largest water utility so it can operate with the level of excellence we see today and in the future,” David Johns, the regional president of Veolia’s operations in Idaho, said in its. Nov. 22 release.
Veolia provides water to 108,000 homes and businesses in Ada County, according to the release.
The company acquired Suez, previously the Treasure Valley’s largest water supplier, in early 2022 in a $15.4 billion merger. Suez bought the parent company of United Water Idaho in 2000 and rebranded it in 2015. United Water Idaho was the successor to Boise Water Works, which began serving Boise in 1890.
Idaho Power seeks higher rates too
Veolia customers in Idaho can also expect to see their electricity rates rise in the new year. Idaho Power, which serves more than 630,000 customers in Idaho and a portion of eastern Oregon, lodged a request with the PUC in May to raise its rates by more than 7% next year.
If that request is approved as is, the average residential customer, using about 950 kilowatt hours a month, would see their monthly Idaho Power bill rise by $7.48, according to the filing.
