Water customers at the former Loring Air Force Base will pay lower rates, at least for now.
The Maine Public Utilities Commission on Wednesday granted a temporary 75 percent reduction in rates the Loring Development Authority is charging customers.
The decision is a short-term win for a 10-member group of residents who asked the commission to investigate and halt rate increases. The PUC launched a probe in November after the rates rose roughly tenfold, but declined in January to stop the increases.
Commissioners said this week that the new prices amount to rate shock, and they ordered a reduction until the investigation ends.
“Indeed, the rates are untenable and if the record before the Commission does not constitute rate shock, it is unclear what would constitute rate shock,” the decision stated.
The controversy ignited in October when the Loring Development Authority, which oversees operations on the 3,800-acre former base, notified customers of the increase. Residents and businesses were blindsided by the hikes.
Development authority CEO Jonathan Judkins defended the increases in November, saying that since rates hadn’t changed since 2016, water system maintenance had been deferred. The authority needed to raise prices to maintain the aging system.
A group led by Tim McCabe, who owns the Bunker Inn on the former base with his wife, Sandy, alleged customers weren’t given ample notice and petitioned the PUC to intervene.
The other group members are residents Theresa Woodworth, Rachelle Perreault, Elaine Akerson, Gail Isabel and B.B. Hredocik, and business owners Brittni Basu, co-manager of the Manser Drive apartments at Loring; Polly Chike, president of Loring Air Museum; Thomas Ayer of CircleB Farms, which operates a broccoli processing facility at Loring; and Mark Appleton of British Cycle Supply.
PUC leaders said in January that suspending the fees was not possible because the authority only recently came under the PUC and had no prior water rates on file. Therefore it was unclear what other charges would be. Temporarily reduced rates could be an option, commissioners said.
At a March 7 evidentiary hearing with the PUC and the public advocate, petitioners claimed the rates were unjust and unreasonable. The development authority stated it sympathized, but couldn’t operate the water system at 2016 rate levels.
On March 18, the PUC recommended a temporary 75 percent rate reduction pending the outcome of the ongoing investigation, and on March 26 issued a formal order for that reduction, signed by PUC Chair Philip Bartlett II and commissioners Patrick Scully and Carolyn Gilbert.
At the old quarterly rates, which were unchanged since 2016, customers at the minimum level who used up to 1,200 cubic feet of water paid the greater of $40 or .040 cents per cubic foot.
The new rates vary according to meter size and usage. At the lowest range, customers with 5/8-inch meters using up to 900 cubic feet pay $471 per quarter, and those with 3/4-inch meters using up to 1,200 cubic feet pay $589.12.
Now, under the temporary reduced rates, those with 5/8-inch meters up to 900 cubic feet will pay $117.83 and those with 3/4-inch meters up to 1,200 cubic feet will pay $147.28. The rates rise incrementally.
“It is clear the Authority is experiencing financial strain and will require a rate
increase of some amount to continue to provide service,” commissioners wrote. “The Commission will ultimately determine what are the appropriate permanent rates given all the circumstances and considering both the needs of the utility and fairness and affordability to its customers.”
The PUC is continuing its investigation and will collect information and responses from the development authority next month. A conference session is slated for May 6 in Hallowell.
