EXHIBIT 99.2
Published on May 4, 2007
Exhibit 99.2
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Final Transcript
May. 03. 2007 / 11:00AM ET, CWT Q1 2007 California Water Service Group Earnings Conference Call
CORPORATE PARTICIPANTS
Martin Kropelnicki
California Water Service Group VP & CFO
California Water Service Group VP & CFO
Pete Nelson
California Water Service Group President & CEO
California Water Service Group President & CEO
CONFERENCE CALL PARTICIPANTS
Heike Doerr
Janney Montgomery Analyst
Janney Montgomery Analyst
Michael Gaugler
Brean Murray, Carret Analyst
Brean Murray, Carret Analyst
Michael Gresens
Robert W. Baird Analyst
Robert W. Baird Analyst
Selman Akyol
Stifel, Nicolaus Analyst
Stifel, Nicolaus Analyst
Jonathan Reeder
A.G. Edwards Analyst
A.G. Edwards Analyst
PRESENTATION
Operator
Good day, Ladies and Gentlemen and welcome to the 2007 First Quarter Earnings Conference Call.
[OPERATOR INSTRUCTIONS] I would now like to introduce your host for todays conference, Mr. Martin
Kropelnicki, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of California Water Service Group. Sir, you
may begin.
Martin Kropelnicki - California Water Service Group VP & CFO
Thanks, Devon and good morning everyone and welcome to our first quarter conference call for
2007. I am joined this morning with Peter Nelson, President and Chief Executive Officer of
California Water Service Group. Id like remind everyone that this conference is being recorded and
a replay of todays discussions is available from May 3rd through July 2nd at 1-888-266-2081, ID
1064646.
Prior to looking at the financial results, Id like to take a moment to talk about forward-looking
statements. In particular, during the course of this conference call, the Company may make certain
forward-looking statements. Because these statements deal with future events, they are subject to
various risks and uncertainties and actual results could differ materially from our current
expectations. Because of this, the Company strongly advises all current shareholders, as well as
all interested parties, to carefully read and understand the Companys disclosures on risks and
risk factors and uncertainties found in our 10K, Form 10Q and other reports filed from time to time
with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Having said that, why dont we jump in and start talking about the financial results for the
quarter and then Pete is going to spend some time giving you a regulatory update and I think youll
see overall weve got a lot to talk about this morning.
Starting off with the revenue, revenue for the quarter was $71.6 million, up $6.4 million or 9.7%
from last year. We had three main drivers for the increase in revenue. First and foremost we had an
increase of $3.2 million to sales to existing customers and thats primarily due to the dry first
quarter that we had. We had $2.6 million of rate relief and lastly we had $600,000 of sales to new
customers.
On the operating expense line, operating expenses increased $6 million to $66.3 million. Of that
amount, $4.4 million had to do with water production and increased water production costs to meet
the increase in demand by existing customers. Maintenance expense was up $600,000 to $4.5 million,
up slightly as we did more maintenance and preventative maintenance during the quarter. We also had
two frosts and typically when
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Final Transcript
May. 03. 2007 / 11:00AM ET, CWT Q1 2007 California Water Service Group Earnings Conference Call
the weather is nice, we like to do more preventative maintenance work
early in the quarter before we get into our busy season. Depreciation expense was up $700,000 to
$8.4 million. The increase in depreciation expense is due to our increased capital expenditure
program and higher interest rates associated with our capitalized interest. As you may or may not
recall, we dont get AFUDC, we get capitalized interest. So, we capitalize interest on the funds
that are basically work in progress. So, as interest rates have gone up, we have been able to
capitalize a higher amount there.
Going down to other income and expense, other income and expense was up $800,000 to $1.3 million.
This is primarily due to the Companys purchase of short-term investments from its stock offering
proceeds in Q4 of 2006.
Taxes other than income increased $200,000 to $3.4 million, primarily due to the increase in
franchise fees and property tax fees that we typically see in the first quarter of each year.
Income taxes were up $500,000, up approximately 50% to $1.1 million during the quarter because of
heavier profitability during Q1.
Net income for the quarter was $1.6 million, up $800,000 or 50% from where it was a year ago.
Earnings per share were $0.07 a share versus $0.04 a share for the same period last year and that
includes $0.01 of dilution associated with the stock offering that was completed in October.
A couple of other financial highlights that are worth mentioning before I turn it over to Pete,
first and foremost the Companys capital expenditure program. During Q1, the company funded capital
expenditures of $19.4 million. Thats up 20.7% from the first Q of 2006 of $3.3 million. Net
utility plant ended the quarter at $952 million, up from $875 million so an increase of $76.7
million or 8.8%. So, overall were very pleased with the progress weve made in our capital
expenditure program during the first quarter.
In addition, in terms of our balance and accounts, our balance and accounts for the quarter we
ended the quarter at approximately $2 million being under collected. For those of you that
reference back to our 10K, we ended the year with approximately $1.5 million being under collected.
Of that $1.5 million under collected, we collected approximately $250,000 of that balance during
the quarter and then you saw an increase during the quarter of approximately $800,000 to end the
quarter with a net balance under collected of a little over $2 million. So, a little bit of
movement in the balance and accounts but still feeling really good about whats going on there.
So, overall we think it was a good first quarter, certainly if you compare the differences to last
year and Ill give some weather stats here after Pete talks. I think were happy with where we
ended up for the quarter. Id now like to turn it over to Pete Nelson to give everyone an update on
whats happening on the regulatory side.
Pete Nelson - California Water Service Group President & CEO
Okay. Thanks, Marty and good morning everybody. Ive been given the task of going through
regulation in California and this is really where the action is right now. Since the last
conference call, theres been a lot of activity and Im going to walk through this but it all kind
of comes under the umbrella of the California Water Action Plan, which Ill mention a little later
on.
Im going to talk about some technical changes and there is some detail here, but its important to
understand this because we were at a key stage in a changing regulatory environment in California.
So, Im going to talk about three general areas, but Im going to end up with five rate-making
actions that are important to us that are in process right now and that are new since the last
conference call.
So, first Ill talk about the weather in the first quarter, which Marty mentioned and hell come
back to later in the call and within the weather subject, there is some calls for conservation and
that does have an impact on our balancing accounts, which Ill spend some time on. Then there are
two proceedings going on right now. One is called the rate case plan proceeding, which is how
general rate cases are processed. And then theres also a conversation proceeding, which impacts
sales and revenues and balancing accounts. So, Ill talk about each of those.
But first, the California Water Action Plan. You may recall this is Californias now adopted policy
guidance for water regulation. This was approved back in December, 2005. Its a 28 page document
and contains really very good public policy for water regulation. The plan is implemented as each
water company makes a filing and includes elements from the plan, but I do see the Commission and
the Commission staff being very committed to the plan and theyre acting to implement it as youll
see here.
So, first of the three points is weather. As you may recall, California has swung now from a very
cold, very wet early 2006 to just the reverse in 2007, a relatively dry, relatively hot first
quarter. And when you see that kind of a swing in weather, youre going to see swings in usage and
that
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Final Transcript
May. 03. 2007 / 11:00AM ET, CWT Q1 2007 California Water Service Group Earnings Conference Call
impacts the water companies in California and it impacts each in a little different way, which
may be confusing to some people. Also, with the hot dry season this year, its prompted some
wholesalers and some others in the state to start pushing for voluntary conservation.
Now, we feel very good about our supply picture; we can supply the needs of all our customers. But
nonetheless, one our wholesalers, the Hetch Hetchy System which serves San Francisco and parts of
the Bay Area, has asked for a 10% voluntary reduction in usage. And this if the first of the five
mechanisms Ill talk about. So, in that regard, as Hetch Hetchy asked for a 10% voluntary
reduction, we will file shortly what were calling a Water Conversation memorandum Account. And
well file this for the Districts that are served by Hetch Hetchy water, which is about 10% or 12%
of our customers. And the purpose of this memorandum account is to record any changes in revenue
due to conservation, looking towards ultimately recovery of that revenue in the future. And we
expect that filing to be accepted by the Commission.
The second point on the weather and sales is balancing accounts. This is a pretty technical area
but its important to recall how these things work because it does have a vary on expenses as the
production swings as it has this year. So, first let me talk about how balancing accounts work now,
because we are proposing a change in how they work.
You may recall that the balancing accounts record the changes in wholesale water rates and Ill
emphasize the word rates. So, if Hetch Hetchy raises their rates say $10 an acre foot, we would
keep track of that for ultimate recovery in rates. But the balancing account also records changes
in the electric rates for electricity used to produce water and changes in pump taxes. So, we
record changes in the balancing accounts for ultimate recovery in rates and Marty went through
those earlier. And keep in mind, one key point here is the supply mixture for water companies. We
have a mixture for supply of purchased water from our wholesalers, say Hetch Hetchy or Metropolitan
Water District and pumped water from our own wells or from our own treatment plants. So, thats a
purchased pumped mix.
Now, generally the pumped water that we produce on our own is less expensive to produce than the
purchased water. And I mentioned that the balancing accounts do record changes in the rates, but
the changes in the mix are not recorded in balancing accounts. Lets just say for simplicity that
our mix is 50/50 purchase versus pumped. The balancing accounts will allow recovery in the
wholesale rate changes and electric rate changes but it will not allow recovery of changes in that
50/50 mix. So, as a result, if customers use more water and if as a result of the more water usage
we must purchase more water, which is more expensive, then that increase in supply costs may not be
fully recovered in rates. Its not an easy concept to grasp and I expect people to ask questions
about this, if not after the call later on. But its important because that leads me to my third
point and thats how balancing accounts will change and Ill talk about that later.
Now, lets move onto the Water Action Plan Proceedings and the first one thats active is whats
call the Rate Case Plan Proceeding. This is the proceeding thats going to develop rules for how
general rate cases are processed in the future and the intent of the Water Action Plan is to
streamline the process here. You may recall that we have 24 rate making districts in California
plus our headquarters. Thats essentially 25 different general rate cases we can file. Each of
those is filed every three years. So that means we file one-third of our 24 districts, 8 districts
each year. And the corporate headquarters every three years. That process was designed, Im going
to say five or six years ago and it does create significant regulatory lag in recovering our costs,
especially for the headquarters for corporate costs. So, the status of the rate case plan
proceedings is that the Commission has issued a proposed decision sometime back. Weve all
commented on the proposed decision and we expect the final decision sometime soon, although theres
no date yet set for that.
Now, in advance of that final decision, weve taken the first step in the process and that is May
1st, which was this Tuesday, we filed whats called a proposed application to file general rate
cases for all 24 of our districts and our headquarters in 2007. This is the second of five
regulatory changes Im going to talk about today. So, we filed the proposed application. The final
official application will be July 1st. Now, our action here, our filing is a surprise to no one.
The Commission staff and everyone expected our application to be filed, but the proposed
application is on file now and one additional mechanism were asking for in that filing is what is
called a DSIC-type mechanism and this is the third regulatory action Ill talk about.
And you may have heard of a DSIC which is an acronym for the District System Improvement Charge.
Its a fairly common rate making mechanism in the eastern states for water companies and generally
the DSIC allows quarter rate changes to reflect capital investment in that quarter. Now, we are
calling the Infrastructure Investment Surcharge Mechanism. Sorry, its one more acronym now, IISM,
but its not a true DSIC. Its very similar to a DSIC but it is a new mechanism but the same
concept as a DSIC. The next steps on this rate case plan is July 1st well file our official
application, of course. And then well see what the PUCs final decision on the rate case plan is,
what the rules are for filing and then well either continue our 25 rate applications or well
adjust those as necessary, depending on what the final plan is.
The other proceeding I mentioned is a conservation proceeding and actually its a very long name
but we shorten it to the conservation proceeding. Its a generic proceeding thats been underway
for a while and its intent is to look at the public policy, lay it out in the Water Action Plan,
which is very heavily weighted towards conservation and weve been working with the Commission and
the staff on the best way to
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Final Transcript
May. 03. 2007 / 11:00AM ET, CWT Q1 2007 California Water Service Group Earnings Conference Call
implement effective conservation programs and working in particular
with the Department of Rate Payer Advocates, part of the Commission staff.
Now, April 23rd, just last month, we filed a joint California Water Service Department of Rate
Payer Advocates Settlement Agreement with the Commission. So, we have settled all the points here.
Two important items came out of that Settlement Agreement. One is we have agreed on a revenue
adjustment mechanisms or a decoupling of sales and revenue. This is the fourth rate action now.
Were calling this the Water Revenue Adjustment Mechanism or WRAM. Sorry, one more acronym here.
This looks like a mechanism thats been used in electric and gas businesses for 30 or 40 years,
particularly in California, its been very effective. But the impact or the effect here is to
true-up the actual revenue from customers, the revenue authorized in an adopted rate case. This is
a new mechanism in the water business. Weve talked about it quite a bit and now we have an
agreement with at least the Department of Rate Payer Advocate staff on how to do this.
And let me explain this a little bit. If you look at revenue from sales of water, there are three
or four ways to categorize revenue. One is, I just said, adopted revenue. This would be the revenue
thats been authorized in an adopted rate case, how much revenue that the rate case assumes or is
adopted as authorized. The second category we could call actual revenue and thats the revenue that
we actually see from customers. And then the third category could be booked or recorded revenue,
which ends up on the financial statements. The concept agreed to in the revenue adjustment
mechanism is that each month we would true-up the actual revenue to match the adopted revenue
authorized in the rate case. So, in effect, I suspect essentially youre booking your adopted
revenue. The impact is it would mitigate, of course, the change in sales or usage levels on
revenue, be the change in sales for conservation, weather or whatever reason, and the result also
is that it allows water utilities to more aggressively push conservation programs. Its very
important to the Commission and very good public policy.
Now, the second item in the Settlement Agreement for conservation relates back to balancing
accounts and this will be my fifth mechanism or fifth action. Now, we agreed with the Department of
Rate Payer Advocates to expand the balancing account concept to accommodate changes in that pump
versus purchase mix of supply. And were calling this the Modified Cost Balancing Account and the
intention is to true-up the cost we incur as a result in the change in the mix of purchased and
pumped water that I mentioned earlier. This is an important change too because in effect, it will
mitigate the impact of the change in the mix which usually swings from year to year as we sometimes
produce and purchase more expensive water. But it will mitigate the impact of that purchased water
on our expense levels.
The next steps here for the conservation proceeding is really up to the Commission. Weve filed
this as a joint agreement. The Commission could hold hearings or they could issue a decision on
their own. We do expect a decision on this in 2007, although theres no date yet set for that.
Now, in summary, I know there is a lot of technical changes here and a lot happened in the last
three months, a lot of moving parts, but as you can see, theres a lot of elements of the Water
Action Plan that are now in process and about to be implemented. I mentioned five and Ill just
quickly run back through those. One is the conservation memorandum account. Areas where theres
conservation being advocated as a result of the dry year, collect those revenues for ultimate
recovery. Weve also filed a general rate case proposed application for all 24 districts and the
headquarters, the entire Company for 2007. Also in that application weve advocated or asked for a
DSIC-type mechanism to reflect capital editions in rates quicker, called the well, I mentioned
that. We also asked for a revenue adjustment mechanism, decoupling sales and revenue. And lastly,
in the agreement with the Department of Rate Payer Advocates, weve asked for a modified cost
balancing account to true-up the changes in costs due to the mix of purchased and pumped water.
All five parts are related. Theyre all vehicles in the Water Action Plan and theyre all moving
parts. So, I know its difficult to grasp them all. But bottom line is that the current situation
continues to point out to us that we do have a potentially improving regulatory environment here in
California and thats very positive.
With that, Ill turn it back to Marty to wrap up the call.
Martin Kropelnicki - California Water Service Group VP & CFO
That was a lot. I want to just come back to the weather to share some data. I think theres
been a lot of information out about the dry weather during Q1 and I havent heard a whole lot of
statistics being shared. So, wed like to share some statistics from our operation divisions and
districts out in the first.
First and foremost, as you may recall, Q1 of last year was extremely wet and in many parts of the
state we tied the record for one of the wettest years on record. So, looking back kind of looking
at three major service areas for us in the state, we have the Bay Area. Last year, at the end of
Q1, we had approximately 9.5 inches of rain that was received over 43.3 days. This year, in 07 for
the same period, current year, we had 4.2
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Final Transcript
May. 03. 2007 / 11:00AM ET, CWT Q1 2007 California Water Service Group Earnings Conference Call
inches of rain that fell on a total of 21.3 days. Going
down to the Central Valley, we had 7.8 inches of rain that fell on 17.3 days of 2006. And for 07,
the same period this year, we had 3.1 inches of rain that fell on 34 days. And then finally, if we
go down to Southern California, in 06 we had 6.5 inches of rain during the first quarter of last
year that fell on 20.7 days. And this year we had 1 inch of rain that fell on 11.3 days.
So, overall, as Pete mentioned, kind of a complete shift to where we were last year, hence you saw
the change in our net income, which we feel really good about. As Pete talked about, we did have
one wholesaler that asked for voluntary conservation and we support that. We continue to be very
encouraged by our capital expenditure program and we want to continue to keep the pressure on that
program to make the needed infrastructure investments that help yield the results that we think are
achievable. And finally, last but not least, were encouraged by whats happening at the
Commission. As Pete talked about, he gave you a lot of information of things that are in process.
The proposed application for our GRC, etcetera. It is a political process that we go through and it
is subject to change, but you do have the latest information as of yesterday afternoon.
So, with that, Devon, I think well open up for questions with the people on the call, please.
QUESTION AND ANSWER
Operator
Thank you. [OPERATOR INSTRUCTIONS] Our first question comes from, excuse me if I pronounce
this wrong, Heike Doerr of Janney Montgomery.
Heike Doerr - Janney Montgomery Analyst
I had a feeling it would be me from the pause before my name. Good morning, Gentlemen. Thank
you for being so thorough regarding the regulation. You had me all the way until we started talking
about the water revenue adjustment mechanism. And Im hoping you could maybe give us one more layer
of detail and explain what the three different categories are? And how [technical difficulty] get
trued-up?
Pete Nelson - California Water Service Group President & CEO
Ill try to summarize this, instead of getting into the detail. The concept is to true-up what
we see as revenue from customers to whats adopted in a rate case. So, say a rate case for the
month of June would adopt $50 million in revenue, but we saw $45 million from customers, we would
be able to surcharge or actually put that in a balancing account, the $5 million under collection
to collect in the future. It works like a balancing account, just to true-up sales to revenue.
Heike Doerr - Janney Montgomery Analyst
Okay.
Pete Nelson - California Water Service Group President & CEO
We know its a new concept and its going to be difficult. But it has worked in the electric
and gas business in California since the mid-1970s.
Heike Doerr - Janney Montgomery Analyst
Right. And was it expected from the Commission that you were going to this time file all 24 at
once?
Pete Nelson - California Water Service Group President & CEO
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Final Transcript
May. 03. 2007 / 11:00AM ET, CWT Q1 2007 California Water Service Group Earnings Conference Call
Yes.
Heike Doerr - Janney Montgomery Analyst
So, theres no surprise there?
Pete Nelson - California Water Service Group President & CEO
No. And we had to do that in advance of the rules being set, to get our foot in the door.
Heike Doerr - Janney Montgomery Analyst
And are you ahead of the curve regarding the other California water utilities in going through
this process, just by the timing of when your next rate filing was going to go? Or are you each
kind of learning from each other as this process moves forward?
Pete Nelson - California Water Service Group President & CEO
Well, weve been working with the staff and the Commission on the rate case plan and it keeps
changing week to week. But were trying to balance the workload of the Commission, which is which
companies filed first and for how many of their districts, versus what the Commission can handle.
So, thats kind of another moving part.
So, we are kind of acting in concert with the Commission, but of course each company is proposing
their own application.
Heike Doerr - Janney Montgomery Analyst
Okay. Well, thank you so much for answering my questions. Great quarter.
Martin Kropelnicki - California Water Service Group VP & CFO
Sure. Thank you. I think the one thing I would add to Petes; its probably noteworthy. And if
you look at the electric and gas industry, when we talk about balancing accounts within the
quarter, those represents costs that have been expensed and theyve hit the P&L, but we havent
been able to recover the revenue. So, for our sister utilities in the state that are electric and
gas, they are allowed to book those balancing accounts every month. And so, thats really kind of
the big shift where we talk about, for example, in Q1 we have $2 million of under collection in our
balancing accounts, but thats really off the books, that as we work through the theoretical
application of the WRAM that there is a change that we would be able to book those on a monthly
basis and recognize them.
Heike Doerr - Janney Montgomery Analyst
Got it. Thanks.
Operator
thank you. Our next question comes from, excuse me if I pronounce this wrong, Mr. Michael
Gaugler of Brean Murray, Carret.
Michael Gaugler - Brean Murray, Carret Analyst
Good morning, gentlemen. Listen, just one question. I noticed that depreciation jumped a bit
versus the last several quarters. Just, this is an anomaly or do you see this increasing over the
near term?
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Final Transcript
May. 03. 2007 / 11:00AM ET, CWT Q1 2007 California Water Service Group Earnings Conference Call
Martin Kropelnicki - California Water Service Group VP & CFO
No. I think our depreciation should be pretty set here for the year. What typically happens is
we get new depreciation schedules that take effect during Q1. And so, every time you have a general
rate case and the outcome from a general rate case, the Commission can certainly help change your
depreciation schedule. So, we typically have a change that takes effect during the first quarter of
every year.
Michael Gaugler - Brean Murray, Carret Analyst
Okay. Thats all I had, gentlemen. Thank you.
Pete Nelson - California Water Service Group President & CEO
Thank you, Michael.
Operator
Thank you. Our next question comes from Michael Gresens of Robert W. Baird.
Michael Gresens - Robert W. Baird Analyst
Good morning, gentlemen. On the infrastructure investment surcharge mechanism, is that going
to be set to whatever youre authorized [we] levels are in your latest rate cases? Or whats the
recovery mechanism there going to be?
Pete Nelson - California Water Service Group President & CEO
I think youre talking about the DSIC-type mechanism?
Michael Gresens - Robert W. Baird Analyst
Right.
Pete Nelson - California Water Service Group President & CEO
Is that the one? Well its, of course, just at the very beginning here.
Pete Nelson - California Water Service Group President & CEO
To be determined, actually.
Pete Nelson - California Water Service Group President & CEO
To be determined. And so we dont really know yet. But I think one change from the DSIC-type
mechanism were proposing is instead of on a quarter-by-quarter true-up it could be a different
period. A month-to-month or longer, depending on the capital invested in that district in that
period.
Michael Gresens - Robert W. Baird Analyst
Okay.
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Final Transcript
May. 03. 2007 / 11:00AM ET, CWT Q1 2007 California Water Service Group Earnings Conference Call
Pete Nelson - California Water Service Group President & CEO
It would change rates as we input and record capital investment and then the rates would
change shortly thereafter.
Michael Gresens - Robert W. Baird Analyst
Alright. And then in terms of the settlement that you filed, one of the unresolved issues that
I saw was in terms of the ROE. Is that going to be left up to the upcoming rate cases or do you
foresee the Commission deciding on those issues as part of the whatever settlement hearings or
settlement decision that they do make?
Martin Kropelnicki - California Water Service Group VP & CFO
You know thats still up in the air. Typically, as part of a general rate case, you would file
your cost to capital which helps determine what the ROE is. In a general tone, I think what you
should get the sense from Petes presentation here today is that theres a lot of moving parts at
the Commission and a lot of these parts seem to be moving towards simplifying the rate case process
and certainly that calculation of ROE is somewhat of a complex process within its self that takes
place as part of the general rate case.
So, we havent had those discussions yet. We did not file a cost to capital with the proposed
application we put in yesterday and thats to be determined.
Michael Gresens - Robert W. Baird Analyst
And then one final question, I guess clarification on the balancing account. If this
settlement were adopted as is, would the remaining $0.06 a share, that $2 million worth, be
included in earnings immediately at that point?
Martin Kropelnicki - California Water Service Group VP & CFO
Thats a very good forward-looking statement, Michael. And I dont think I can answer it. I
think the best way for me to answer it is that if the model that gets adopted is similar to what
the electric and gas companies have had, then the answer would be yes. From our standpoint, we
would like to see those balancing accounts become on the books versus off the books.
Michael Gresens - Robert W. Baird Analyst
Okay. Thank you, guys.
Operator
Thank you. [OPERATOR INSTRUCTIONS] Our next question comes from Selman, excuse me if I
pronounce this wrong, Akyol of Stifel, Nicolaus.
Selman Akyol - Stifel, Nicolaus Analyst
Close enough on all accounts. Good morning. Just, if I could real quickly, on when do you
expect this to be adopted or when do you expect to have an answer back on these points?
Martin Kropelnicki - California Water Service Group VP & CFO
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Final Transcript
May. 03. 2007 / 11:00AM ET, CWT Q1 2007 California Water Service Group Earnings Conference Call
You know, again, its a political process. Frankly thats up to the judges involved and the
Commissioners involved. As Pete mentioned, we think a lot of the stuff will come to a conclusion
this year, but that really is our best guess.
Selman Akyol - Stifel, Nicolaus Analyst
And then on your rate case or your proposed case, when do you expect that to be completed?
Pete Nelson - California Water Service Group President & CEO
Well, we expect to file it officially July 1st and it takes about one year under the current
conditions. So, look to July of 08 for decisions.
Selman Akyol - Stifel, Nicolaus Analyst
And at this point, its too early to say how much youre going to be filing for?
Pete Nelson - California Water Service Group President & CEO
Well, we dont have an official application on file yet. We have a proposed application at the
Commission.
Selman Akyol - Stifel, Nicolaus Analyst
Okay.
Pete Nelson - California Water Service Group President & CEO
And the rules could change between now and July 1st. We dont know.
Martin Kropelnicki - California Water Service Group VP & CFO
And I think, too as Pete talked about, we filed the proposed application big. Its an
estimated $77 million. But again, thats the proposed application. Thats subject to change between
now and when we file the final application.
Selman Akyol - Stifel, Nicolaus Analyst
Right. And then just in terms of going back to the true-ups, you said that that would then be
done on a monthly basis?
Pete Nelson - California Water Service Group President & CEO
It depends on which of the true-ups youre talking about. Which ?
Selman Akyol - Stifel, Nicolaus Analyst
Well, in terms of I guess the actual revenue?
Pete Nelson - California Water Service Group President & CEO
Yes. The WRAM, the Revenue Adjustment Mechanism?
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Final Transcript
May. 03. 2007 / 11:00AM ET, CWT Q1 2007 California Water Service Group Earnings Conference Call
Selman Akyol - Stifel, Nicolaus Analyst
Uh-huh.
Pete Nelson - California Water Service Group President & CEO
The proposal there is month to month true-ups. So, each months financial statements are true
expense to revenue.
Selman Akyol - Stifel, Nicolaus Analyst
Alright. Thats what I need. Thanks.
Operator
Thank you. Our next question comes from Jonathan Reeder of A.G. Edwards.
Jonathan Reeder - A.G. Edwards Analyst
Good morning, gentlemen. A couple of clarifications, as well. The decoupling mechanism and the
modified cost balancing account settlements that are in the DAR settlement, is that going to be
decided in conjunction with the pending rate order? Or can that be deferred until later?
Pete Nelson - California Water Service Group President & CEO
Good question. Thats a separate decision. This is what I called a conservation proceeding.
So, the WRAM or the Revenue Adjustment Mechanism are decoupling and the modified cost balancing
account I would expect to be decided at the same time, but separate from the general rate case
process. Does that help?
Jonathan Reeder - A.G. Edwards Analyst
Yes. Another question. In the quarter you had, I think it was $.8 million of interest income
relating to the proceeds from the equity offerings. How much can we expect like going forward? Is
that just, you know, the cash balance until you spend it throughout the year?
Martin Kropelnicki - California Water Service Group VP & CFO
Yes. I mean, its really a function of how fast we can invest that capital and right now we
have a backlog and its called work in progress. There are some intricacies with the type of
construction we have. We have local permitting issues. You state permitting issues and if were
putting wells in we have to get the Department of Health Services to sign off, the availability of
materials; availability of contractors. So, its a very dynamic process. Obviously, from a CFO
standpoint, as long as its authorized to put capital on the ground and get in the rates, I dont
think we can put it in fast enough.
So, I would expect this year our capital program is going to be between $80 million and $100
million. So, if were successful at it, depending on cash flow, well whittle down that balance
quite a bit this year.
Jonathan Reeder - A.G. Edwards Analyst
Okay. And then just one clarification going back to what Selman was asking. Did you say the
WRAM would be collected month-to-month or is that just the other balancing accounts?
Pete Nelson - California Water Service Group President & CEO
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Final Transcript
May. 03. 2007 / 11:00AM ET, CWT Q1 2007 California Water Service Group Earnings Conference Call
No. The intention is for the WRAM to be trued-up every month.
Jonathan Reeder - A.G. Edwards Analyst
Okay. And then which true-ups would not be month-to-month? Maybe that would help separating
that out.
Pete Nelson - California Water Service Group President & CEO
I guess the DSIC-type mechanism or the Infrastructure Investment Surcharge Mechanism, which is
a new one. That period could be flexible, is what were proposing. But the revenue adjustment
mechanism and the WRAM and the modified cost balancing account, month-to-month.
Jonathan Reeder - A.G. Edwards Analyst
Okay. And what about the conservation memorandum, does that include the decoupling and the
modified cost balancing account? Im, I guess, a little ??
Pete Nelson - California Water Service Group President & CEO
I know its really confusing. Take the water conservation memorandum account on its own;
thats a separate item. We havent filed that but we will file it very shortly. That is only in
those districts where there is calls for conservation or we expect that there will be mandatory
conservation, not impacted by the other mechanisms. This is strictly you could look at it as
kind of an advance decoupling or an advanced WRAM, but we dont have a revenue adjustment mechanism
in place yet so we have to ask for this memorandum account for conservation.
Jonathan Reeder - A.G. Edwards Analyst
Okay. So, thats just kind of acting as a temporary bridge?
Pete Nelson - California Water Service Group President & CEO
Exactly. If we had the revenue adjustment mechanism in place, we wouldnt need the
conservation memorandum account.
Jonathan Reeder - A.G. Edwards Analyst
Right. Okay. That helps a lot. I appreciate it.
Martin Kropelnicki - California Water Service Group VP & CFO
Alright. Thanks, Jonathan.
Operator
Thank you. We have a follow-up question from Mr. Akyol of Stifel, Nicolaus.
Selman Akyol - Stifel, Nicolaus Analyst
Thanks. Real quick. Just on the water production costs for the quarter, because they were up
substantially. Was there a change in your mix [inaudible]?
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Final Transcript
May. 03. 2007 / 11:00AM ET, CWT Q1 2007 California Water Service Group Earnings Conference Call
Martin Kropelnicki - California Water Service Group VP & CFO
No. Actually, let me in fact, I had my data ready because Jonathan, the last two calls, had
asked this question. Ill give you the breakout and youll see this when we file the 10Q here in
the next few days. Purchased water was $20.9 million, up from $17.2 million. So, that was a 20.9%
increase. Purchased power, so the power that we use to pump water for our own wells was $3.7
million, up from $2.8 million the year before. So, thats a 28.2% increase. And then pump taxes
were roughly about the same; they were down slightly about $45,000 at about $1.2 million for the
quarter. And they were roughly about the same last year.
Selman Akyol - Stifel, Nicolaus Analyst
Okay. Thank you.
Martin Kropelnicki - California Water Service Group VP & CFO
Sure.
Operator
Thank you. [OPERATOR INSTRUCTIONS] Im showing no further questions, sir.
Martin Kropelnicki - California Water Service Group VP & CFO
Great. Well, we just wanted to take this opportunity to thank everybody for being interested
in our Company and keeping up on whats going on. Obviously, there is a lot happening in the state
of California. We continue to believe that the Water Action Plan is a very good progressive step
forward for both the Commission and for us. And we feel that the Company is very well positioned
going into the second quarter.
So, we will look forward to talking to everyone in August when we report on Q2 of 2007. Thank you.
Operator
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your participating in todays conference. This concludes
the program. You may all disconnect. Thank you and have a nice day.
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