PUC holds public hearing on Punalu'u Water & Sanitation request for $639,505 temporary rate increase

The Public Utilities Commission held a virtual public hearing on docket PUC-20250167 to take testimony on Punalu'u Water & Sanitation LLC’s (PWS) application for approval of a temporary rate increase and related tariff changes.

PWS asked the Commission to approve temporary rate revenues of $639,505 — an increase the company characterized as necessary to cover operating shortfalls and immediate repairs. PWS said the requested revenue would represent roughly a 2,795 percent increase over pro forma revenue at current rates and that about $167,500 of the request would be used to repair four broken fire hydrants. PWS said it had sustained cumulative losses from 2020–2024 and relied on a $750,000 long-term loan and a $65,000 short-term loan to continue operations.

The hearing was limited to taking testimony on the temporary rate application. The Division of Consumer Advocacy (DCA) told the Commission it would independently review PWS’s filing and conduct discovery on the company’s financial and operational claims before making a recommendation.

Why it matters

PWS’s request touches on public-safety and basic-services concerns for residents in the company’s service territory in Kaʻū and nearby subdivisions served by the utility. Speakers at the hearing described recent equipment failures, an instance in which customers were asked to conserve because of a failed pump, and out-of-service fire hydrants. Several owners and occupants of multiunit properties told the Commission the system’s condition risks health, safety and property values.

What PWS told the Commission

Shane Yonemori, counsel for Punalu'u Water & Sanitation LLC, introduced Charles “Chuck” Loy, CPA, who presented the company’s case. Loy said the system has run at a revenue deficit for years, that the current residential rates were set in 1977 and have not been adjusted to reflect inflation, and that operating deficits and aging…