Agenda - Council - 08/27/1996 - Laserfiche WebLink

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m m m 1987 Northwestern Bell Extended Area Service Docket. The SRA made significant progress in demonstrating cost in equities in the Twin C~ty Metropolitan Area Northwestern Bell service area. SRA participation in this case helped lay the ground work for the order abandoning the Tier System. 1986 Redeliberation on Northwestern Bell Cases. The SRA obtained very substantial reductions in the Tier System ratios. These changes resulted in very significant savings in telephone rates for most SRA business and residential users prior to the elimination of this rate design in 1992. 1985 Rate Structure Task Force. The SRA was active in the formulation of funding proposals for the Combined Sewer Overflow ("CSO") projects in the Cities of Minneapolis, St. Paul and South St. Paul. SRA involvement may have limited the pass-through of these costs to member communities. 1985 Northern States Power General Rate Case. The SRA "pioneered" ~ issue as to fossil fuel inventory. The SRA also helped maintain the municipal pumping rate, and defended prior SRA accomplishments as to accounting practices. Very substantial savings were realized through SRA intervention. This case was appealed to the Court of Appeals and the State Supreme Court and the SRA (alone) participated with MPUC in successfully defending MPUC's action. ESTIMATED DOLLAR SAVINGS FROM SRA EFFORTS These a~e rough calculations made with the assistance of legal counsel and ~SRA expert consultants. In an effort to be able to contrast sa~ings with assessments, the calculations are made on a per SRA member vote basis (5,000 of population). They attempt to distinguish ~savings resulting primarily from SRA efforts and savings that likely would have resulted anyway due to positions taken by state agencies. 1975 NSp. SRA's retained expert estimated $18 to $20 per household. Using 3.4 persons per household, this would be approximately $26,500 per vote. The figure does not include business savings. 1977 NSP. There is no estimate of dollar savings in the file. The 197~ principles were defended successfully. It is thus reasonable to state that the $26,500 per vote continued from 1975 and onward. To be conservative, use five years of $132,000 per vote for NSP electric through 1980. 1982 Northwestern Bell. The SRA commenced its attack on the Tier S~stem. In 1984, the SRA won a significant victory reducing by 50% the tier ratios imposed by Bell. Northwesterr Bell has estimated a shift away from suburban communities o~ about $2 million to $3 million per year as a result of SRA JMS105177 SU160-3 4