1. COST OF CAPITAL application A.1704001 An All Party Cost of Capital hearing was held in Sacramento on March 15, 2018. ORA, ORA attorney, and financial consultant represented ALJ Bemesderfer’s proposed decision and the ratepayers position well. Again, SJWC is currently authorized a 9.43% Return on Equity. SJWC is requesting 10.75% and ALJ Bemesderfer proposed 8.3%. Jennifer Wadsworth with San Jose Inside/Metro latest article, Consumers Up Against Lobbyists in Fight over San Jose Water Company’s Proposed Rate Hike https://www.sanjoseinside.com/2018/03/18/consumers-up-against-lobbyists-in-fight-over-san-jose-water-companys-proposed-rate-hike/ highlights how the water companies are reacting to ALJ Bemesderfer’s proposed decision on the Cost of Capital application. If you haven’t already done so, please write a letter to the commissioners before March 22 requesting that ALJ Bemesderfer’s decision be upheld. You can find more information on who to send your letter to at https://sjwfacts.weebly.com/cost-of-capital.html. The letter I submitted on behalf of WRATES can be located at the same link. Click on REBUTTAL LETTER. The 5 commissioners will vote on the proposed decision this Thursday, March 22, 2018 from 9:30-10:30am. CPUC Voting Meeting in the CPUC Auditorium, 505 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco, CA. The Voting Meeting will be live streamed and can be accessed at the link below. http://www.adminmonitor.com/ca/cpuc/voting_meeting/20180322/ 2. SJWC MERGER WITH CONNECTICUT WATER SERVICE SJWC has announced an all stock merger with Connecticut Water Services (CTWS). This will make SJWC the third largest in the Nation serving 1.5 million people. The new CEO, Eric Thornburg, was CEO of CTWS before becoming SJW CEO. He stated that this merger will lower their Cost of Capital. This merger appears to be information the CPUC should have known about in the Cost of Capital proceedings. If the CEO himself is saying that this merger will lower their Cost of Capital and SJWC has been vigorously fighting for higher Cost of Capital returns, this appears disingenuous at best. SJWC carries a debt of $431.1M and SJW will assume $255.2M of CTWS’ debt. https://marketexclusive.com/sjw-group-nysesjw-files-an-8-k-entry-into-a-material-definitive-agreement/2018/03/ https://seekingalpha.com/article/4157565-thoughts-san-jose-water-connecticut-water-merger?auth_param=1djdcs:1davq50:c3fd7b787a081aca136a4ff035d299ee&uprof=45&dr=1