Great Oaks Water rate case moves toward November hearing; CPUC fact sheet lists $325,060 annual impact

Great Oaks Water Company’s California Public Utilities Commission cost-of-capital case is moving toward its next formal phase, with an evidentiary hearing scheduled for Nov. 9, 2026, and briefing deadlines extending into January 2027.

The active CPUC proceeding identifies Great Oaks, utility U-162-W, as the applicant in Application A.26-05-001, filed May 1, 2026. The application seeks an authorized cost of capital for the period from July 1, 2027, through June 30, 2030.

The commission’s customer fact sheet lists Great Oaks’ proposed return on equity at 10.30% and its proposed overall rate of return at 9.35%. It estimates that the proposal would increase the utility’s annual revenue requirement by $325,060, or 1.2%, beginning July 1, 2027. The figures are different measures: The 10.30% figure is the proposed return on equity, while 9.35% is the overall proposed rate of return.

An archived Oct. 14 afternoon hearing account reported that Cal Advocates recommended an 8.05% authorized return and estimated annual savings of about $61,000 compared with Great Oaks’ request. Because the retrieved hearing material does not establish whether 8.05% refers to the overall return, return on equity or another metric, it should not be treated as a directly comparable figure without the written Cal Advocates recommendation.

The record also contains a discrepancy over the projected customer impact. An archived Oct. 14 evening hearing summary reports a $25,000 annual increase and renders the case number as A.20-60-001. Those details conflict with the CPUC’s fact sheet, application and active docket, as well as the afternoon hearing account. No official filing or errata located for this draft supports the $25,000 figure, so it is identified here as an unresolved hearing-summary error rather than an official estimate.

Under the adopted scoping memo and ruling, the evidentiary hearing is set for Nov. 9, 2026. Opening briefs are due Dec. 18, and reply briefs are due Jan. 22, 2027, when the matter is scheduled for submission unless further evidence or argument is required. The ruling provides for a proposed decision no later than 90 days after submission and says the commission’s decision will come no sooner than 30 days after the proposed decision. No Commission voting date has been posted.

Customers can follow updates through the CPUC proceeding docket, including any revised schedule, written Cal Advocates recommendation, transcript correction or proposed decision.