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RULES AND
REGULATIONS REVIEW COMMITTEE |
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DISCUSS AND MAKE RECOMMENDATION ON ORDINANCE AMENDING THE REBATE
PROGRAM TO DISALLOW THE REUSE OF WATER SAVINGS RESULTING FROM THE REBATE
PROGRAM |
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Meeting
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March 20, 2009 |
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From: |
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General
Manager |
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Prepared
By: |
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SUMMARY: Extensive funding for water saving rebates is included in California American Water’s (Cal-Am) pending Conservation Filing before the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) (A.07-12-010). Prior to agreeing on the proposed conservation budget, the CPUC’s Division of Ratepayer Advocates (DRA) raised concerns about funding the rebate program with ratepayer dollars if there is a potential that water saved will be reused as a Water Credit as provided by District Rule 25.5, Water Credits. Staff is proposing two amendments to address these concerns. The first amendment relates to Rule 25.5 and the second amendment relates to Rule 141. A draft ordinance incorporating these amendments (Exhibit 2-A) has been prepared for consideration. The proposed ordinance requires repayment of rebate money before a Water Permit is issued when that Permit makes use of a Water Credit for the rebated fixtures. The repayment is included in the Water Permit fees and charges, resulting in minimal impact on staff. The District’s new database program will facilitate this repayment process.
In the settlement agreement for the conservation budget for Cal-Am’s Monterey District dated January 15, 2009, MPWMD agreed to track and report on the amount of rebate savings reinvested as Water Credits during years 2009-2011. If in any year this amount exceeds 0.5 acre-feet (AF), MPWMD agreed to revise its Regulation so that Water Users utilizing a Water Credit would refund the money received through the rebate program before a Water Permit was issued. This agreement was made as a condition to future CPUC authorization for funding for the rebate program. District staff routinely tracks the amount of water savings anticipated through the rebate program.
RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the Board take action to address DRA’s concerns about water savings and credits now, rather than in two years. Staff has concerns regarding possible “double-counting” of rebate savings and Water Credits that currently exist. Requiring a pay back of rebate funds (and an adjustment of the rebate program water savings) will improve the accuracy of water savings calculations related to the rebate program and will more accurately reflect water use on a property.
Staff recommends that the Rules and Regulations Committee support staff’s recommendation to amend Rules 25.5 and 141 to require repayment of rebate funds under certain conditions.
This ordinance is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
2-A Draft Ordinance No. XXX
U:\staff\word\committees\RulesRegsReview\2009\20090320\02\item2.doc