REGULATORY PROCEEDINGS

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2024

NOTE 13 – REGULATORY PROCEEDINGS

Our water and wastewater utilities generate operating revenue from customers based on rates that are established by state public service commissions through a rate-setting process that may include public hearings, evidentiary hearings and the submission of evidence and testimony in support of the Company’s requested level of rates.

We are subject to regulation by the following state regulatory commissions:

• The DEPSC, regulates Artesian Water, Artesian Wastewater, and TESI.

• The MDPSC, regulates both Artesian Water Maryland and Artesian Wastewater Maryland.

• The PAPUC, regulates Artesian Water Pennsylvania.

Our water and wastewater utility operations are also subject to regulation under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974, or Safe Drinking Water Act, the Clean Water Act of 1972, or the Clean Water Act, and related state laws, and under federal and state regulations issued under these laws. These laws and regulations establish criteria and standards for drinking water and for wastewater discharges. Capital expenditures and operating costs required as a result of water quality standards and environmental requirements have been traditionally recognized by state regulatory commissions as appropriate for inclusion in establishing rates.

Water and Wastewater Rates

Our regulated subsidiaries periodically seek rate increases to cover the cost of increased operating expenses, increased financing expenses due to additional investments in utility plant and other costs of doing business. In Delaware, utilities are permitted by law to place rates into effect, under bond, on a temporary basis pending completion of a rate increase proceeding. Any DSIC rate in effect will be reset to zero upon implementation of a temporary increase in base rates charged to customers. The first temporary increase may be up to the lesser of $2.5 million on an annual basis or 15% of gross water sales. Should the rate case not be completed within seven months, by law, the utility may put the entire requested rate relief, up to 15% of gross water sales, in effect under bond until a final resolution is ordered and placed into effect. If any such rates are found to be in excess of rates the DEPSC finds to be appropriate, the utility must refund customers the portion found to be in excess with interest. The timing of our rate increase requests is therefore dependent upon the estimated cost of the administrative process in relation to the investments and expenses that we hope to recover through the rate increase. We can provide no assurances that rate increase requests will be approved by applicable regulatory agencies and, if approved, we cannot guarantee that these rate increases will be granted in a timely or sufficient manner to cover the investments and expenses for which we initially sought the rate increase.

Artesian Water filed an initial request with the DEPSC on April 28, 2023, further supplemented with a request filed on November 30, 2023, to implement new rates to meet a requested increase in revenue of 22.66%, or approximately $16.7 million, on an annualized basis. The actual effective increase is less than 22.66% since Artesian Water has been permitted to recover specific investments made in infrastructure through the assessment of a 7.50% DSIC. Since the DSIC rate is set to zero when temporary rates are placed into effect, customers would experience an incremental increase of 15.16%, the net of the overall 22.66% increase less the DSIC rate of 7.50% then in effect, if the requested increase is granted in full by the DEPSC. The new rates are designed to support Artesian Water’s ongoing capital improvement program and to cover increased costs of operations, including chemicals and electricity for water treatment, water quality testing, fuel, taxes, interest, labor and benefits. In accordance with applicable Delaware law, Artesian Water is permitted to implement a temporary base rate increase of 15% of gross water sales on an annual basis, or $2.5 million, whichever is lower, 60 days after the application is filed. Since Artesian Water had DSIC surcharges in excess of the allowable temporary increase and imposing the temporary increase would have required DSIC to be reset to zero, Artesian Water elected not to request the initial temporary rate increase. However, since the application was not resolved within the seven-month statutory timeframe, in accordance with applicable Delaware law, Artesian Water is permitted a temporary base rate increase of up to 15% of gross water sales on an annual basis. Artesian Water filed an interim rates application, which was approved, to place into effect on November 28, 2023 a temporary base rate increase of 15% of gross water sales on an annual basis and reducing the 7.5% DSIC rate to zero, with such interim rates subject to refund, until permanent rates are determined by the DEPSC.. As of March 31, 2024, no amounts were held in reserve related to the temporary base rate increase. Artesian Water’s last comprehensive application for an increase in base rate charges was filed in April 2014.

Other Proceedings

Delaware law permits water utilities to put into effect, on a semi-annual basis, increases related to specific types of distribution system improvements through a DSIC. This charge may be implemented by water utilities between general rate increase applications that normally recognize changes in a water utility’s overall financial position. The DSIC approval process is less costly when compared to the approval process for general rate increase requests. The DSIC rate applied between base rate filings is capped at 7.50% of the amount billed to customers under otherwise applicable rates and charges, and the DSIC rate increase applied cannot exceed 5.0% within any 12-month period.

The following table summarizes (1) Artesian Water’s last application with the DEPSC to collect DSIC rates and (2) the rate upon which eligible plant improvements was based:

Application Date	11/20/20
DEPSC Approval Date	12/14/20
Effective Date	01/01/21
Cumulative DSIC Rate	7.50%
Net Eligible Plant Improvements – Cumulative Dollars (in millions)	$43.1
Eligible Plant Improvements – Installed Beginning Date	10/01/2014
Eligible Plant Improvements – Installed Ending Date	04/30/2019

The rate reflected the eligible plant improvements installed through April 30, 2019. The January 1, 2021 rate was reset to zero when temporary rates were placed into effect on November 28, 2023 and is subject to periodic audit by the DEPSC. For the three months ended March 31, 2023, we earned approximately $1.2 million in DSIC revenue.