WaterPro seeks 9.5% culinary rate increase; settlement stipulation admitted at Utah PSC hearing

WaterPro Inc. asked the Utah Public Service Commission to approve a 9.5% increase in culinary water rates, and a settlement stipulation resolving the company’s rate case was admitted into the hearing record, the commission’s presiding officer said.

The proposed increase would apply to all tier rates across WaterPro’s service areas and, if approved as filed, the company requested an effective date of April 1, 2025. The Utah Division of Public Utilities told the commission it reviewed the application and supports approval of the settlement stipulation as a just and reasonable result.

Darren Jensen Peterson, general manager of WaterPro, testified the company operates more than 8,400 culinary connections and roughly 3,300 pressurized irrigation connections. He said rising operating costs and planned capital work prompted the request. “I believe the rate increase of 9.5% we have before you today is fair and equitable and is what [is] needed for us to continue to move this company going forward and take care in the construction projects that we currently have ongoing,” Jensen Peterson said under oath.

Jonathan Lee, a utility analyst with the Utah Division of Public Utilities, summarized the division’s review and recommended the commission approve the settlement stipulation. Lee told the commission the division scrutinized WaterPro’s application, financial statements and exhibits, issued a formal data request in September 2024 and found the company cooperative and timely in its responses. “Based on the division’s review of WaterPro’s application and the company’s expenses, revenues, depreciation, and other operations, the division concludes that the settlement stipulation, taken as a whole, including the rate increase proposed, is just and reasonable and in the public interest,” Lee said. He said the division recommends approval with an effective date of 04/01/2025.

The hearing record shows the parties admitted several items into evidence. The commission admitted written direct testimony submitted by Joshua Bean and the company’s application and exhibits. The settlement stipulation and its attachment filed on 01/16/2025 were also admitted into the record. The transcript records the presiding officer thanking the parties for reaching a negotiated settlement; the transcript ends without a recorded final decision by the commission.

WaterPro said it notified customers about the proposed change via a newsletter included with billing on Jan. 3, 2025, and issued a follow-up notice on Feb. 1, 2025, directing customers to the company website for details and announcing a public hearing scheduled for 6 p.m. on Feb. 5. Jensen Peterson said, as of the hearing, the company had not heard from any customers regarding the increase. He also described cost pressures including insurers rising “over 25%” and construction cost increases “over a 20%” that contributed to the request.

What happened next is not recorded in the transcript: the commission did not announce a vote or final disposition during the portion of the hearing in the record provided here. The admitted settlement stipulation and supporting testimony will be part of the administrative record the commission uses to reach its decision.