Frequently Asked Questions

Appealing Rate Changes by Utility Districts, Water Supply Corporations (WSCs) and City-Owned Utilities

 

 

PUCT Jurisdiction

Utility Districts, Water Supply Corporations (WSCs) and City-Owned Utilities set their own water and sewer rates. They do not need approval from the PUCT to change their rates.

Appeals

Even though these types of utility providers set their own rates, customers can appeal a rate change to the PUCT. For customers of city-owned utilities, the ability to appeal is only for customers who live outside the city limits.

At the end of the appeal process, the PUCT can change the rates.

Appeal deadline

Appeals must be submitted within 90 days of the effective date of the rate change.

Required number of appeals

To begin the rate appeal process, the PUCT must receive appeals from 10% or 10,000 affected customers, whichever is fewer. Customers can sign a group petition or submit an appeal request individually.

Who can appeal

Each person receiving a separate bill is considered a ratepayer and can petition. Regardless of the number of bills received, you are considered a single ratepayer. Only one appeal per customer account is accepted, and multiple members of the same household are not counted individually.

How to submit appeal requests and petitions

Here is a sample of a petition.

Submit a request to appeal or a petition using the Interchange Filer System.

If you are the first to file a petition or an appeal and there's no docket number yet, use the Interchange Filer System to check the box to request a new control number. This number will be used for all future filings and documents related to the appeal.

A sample group petition can be found here.

Who is a customer representative

This is a customer or someone they have hired who has the authority to negotiate and speak on behalf of the customers. They are responsible for requesting information from the utility provider, responding to information requests, and filing written testimony on behalf of the ratepayers.

Rate Case Process

Participants in the rate appeal argue their positions in a legal proceeding. The proceeding often takes months with many rounds of legal filings, discovery and hearings. The process follows these general steps:

• Appeal is filed - Customers submit a group petition or individual appeals to the PUCT.
• Administrative Completeness - PUCT technical staff and an administrative law judge conduct an initial review of the appeal.
• Response from Affected Parties - The utility, the affected ratepayers and PUCT staff have an opportunity to recommend how to proceed with the appeal.
• Referral to State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) - This independent state agency acts as the court in the rate dispute, collecting evidence and testimony from the requesting utility and people representing the customers.
• Proposal for Decision - The SOAH judge makes a written recommendation to the PUCT Commissioners whether to grant, deny or change the rates.
• Open Meeting - The PUCT Commissioners vote on the appeal openly, in a public meeting that is broadcast online.

Following the Appeal

• Documents related to the case are on the PUCT Interchange.
• Submit your documents on the Interchange Filer System.
• Get email alerts via the PUCT Filing Notification System.

Participating in an Appeal Case

The groups participating in these cases:

• The utility itself,
• the Staff of the PUCT who represent the public interest broadly,
• the consumers affected by the rate, and
• The Office of Public Utility Counsel (OPUC) represents residential and small commercial consumers as a group.

Note that the PUCT staff and OPUC do not represent specific individual consumers. Individual consumers represent themselves and by attorneys they hire.

Protestors

Submit comments to the official record using the Interchange Filer System. Comments help inform the PUCT and its staff of the public concerns and to identify issues to be explored.

Intervenors