Item 1. Business
Item 1. Business
General Development of Business
SJW Group was initially incorporated as SJW Corp. in the state of California on February 8, 1985. SJW Group is a holding company with four wholly-owned subsidiaries:
• San Jose Water Company (“SJWC”) with its headquarters located at 110 West Taylor Street in San Jose, California 95110, was originally incorporated under the laws of the State of California in 1866. As part of a reorganization on February 8, 1985, SJWC became a wholly owned subsidiary of SJW Group. SJWC is a public utility in the business of providing water service to approximately 231,000 connections that serve a population of approximately one million people in an area comprising approximately 139 square miles in the metropolitan San Jose, California area.
• SJWNE LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, was formed in 2019, and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SJW Group. SJWNE LLC is a special purpose entity established to hold SJW Group’s investment in Connecticut Water Service, Inc. Connecticut Water Service, Inc. with its headquarters located in Clinton, Connecticut was incorporated in 1974 in the State of Connecticut. As part of the merger transaction between SJW Group and Connecticut Water Service, Inc. on October 9, 2019, Connecticut Water Service, Inc. and its subsidiaries (“CTWS”) became a wholly-owned subsidiary of SJWNE LLC. Connecticut Water Service, Inc. is a holding company with four wholly-owned subsidiaries. The Connecticut Water Company (“Connecticut Water”) and The Maine Water Company (“Maine Water”) are public utilities in the business of providing water service to approximately 140,000 connections that serve a population of approximately 456,000 people in 81 municipalities throughout Connecticut and Maine and more than 3,000 wastewater connections in Southbury, Connecticut. The remaining two subsidiaries are Chester Realty, Inc., a real estate company in Connecticut, and New England Water Utility Services, Inc. (“NEWUS”), which provides contract water and sewer operations and other water related services.
• SJWTX, Inc. was incorporated in the State of Texas in 2005. SJWTX, Inc. is doing business as Canyon Lake Water Service Company (“CLWSC”). CLWSC is a public utility in the business of providing water service to approximately 24,000 service connections that serve approximately 70,000 people. CLWSC’s service area comprises more than 266 square miles in the southern region of the Texas Hill Country in Bandera, Blanco, Comal, Hays, Kendall, Medina and Travis counties, the growing region between San Antonio and Austin, Texas. SJWTX, Inc. has a 25% interest in Acequia Water Supply Corporation (“Acequia”). Acequia has been determined to be a variable interest entity within the scope of Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standard Codification (“ASC”) Topic 810, “Consolidation” with SJWTX, Inc. as the primary beneficiary. As a result, Acequia has been consolidated with SJWTX, Inc. On December 17, 2021, CLWSC completed its acquisition of Kendall West Utility and Bandera East Utility, companies that provide water services, including wastewater and recycled water services in Kendall, Bandera and Medina counties which are located in south central Texas. Kendall West Utility and Bandera East Utility, together, added approximately 1,600 service connections that serve a population of approximately 5,000 people in a service area approximately 19 square miles to CLWSC’s operations. SJWTX, Inc is undergoing a corporate reorganization to separate regulated operations from non-tariffed activities. In November 2021, SJWTX Holdings, Inc. (“SJWTX Holdings”) and Texas Water Operation Services LLC (“TWOS”) were formed for the purpose of effecting a corporate reorganization of our water services organization in Texas. TWOS was created for non-tariffed operations and is wholly-owned by SJWTX Holdings. SJWTX Holdings is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SJW Group, incorporated to hold the investments in SJWTX, Inc. and TWOS. In addition, in 2022, SJWTX Holdings intends to create a new subsidiary to hold future wholesale water supply assets.
• SJW Land Company was incorporated in 1985. SJW Land Company owns undeveloped land in California and Tennessee and operates commercial buildings in Tennessee.
Together, SJWC, Connecticut Water, CLWSC, Maine Water and NEWUS, are referred to as “Water Utility Services.”
SJW Land Company and and Chester Realty, Inc. are collectively referred to as “Real Estate Services.”
Regulation and Rates
Water Utility Services are subject to rate regulation based on cost recovery and meets the criteria of accounting guidance for rate-regulated operations, which considers the timing of the recognition of certain revenues and expenses. SJW Group’s consolidated financial statements reflect the effects of the rate-making process. The rate-making process is intended to provide revenues sufficient to recover normal operating expenses, provide funds for replacement of water infrastructure and produce a fair and reasonable return on stockholder common equity. SJW Group’s regulated operations financing activity is designed to
4
achieve capital structures consistent with regulatory guidelines in the locations where the companies operate. The following summarizes each state’s authorized rates and capital structure as of December 31, 2021:
California Connecticut Texas (a) Maine (a)
Authorized capital structure (debt/equity) 47% / 53% 47% / 53% 37% / 63% 54% / 46%
Authorized return on equity 8.90% 9.00% 10.88% 9.81%
Authorized rate base (in millions) $958.9 $549.4 $43.3 $63.3
Estimated rate base at year-end (in millions) $1,023.1 $613.6 $95.1 $87.6
___________________________________
(a) Represents averages over water systems operating in the state.
California Regulatory Affairs
SJWC’s rates, service and other matters affecting its business are subject to regulation by the California Public Utilities Commission (“CPUC”).
Generally, there are three types of rate adjustments that affect SJWC’s revenue collection: general rate adjustments, cost of capital adjustments, and offset rate adjustments. General rate adjustments are authorized in general rate case decisions, which usually authorize an initial rate adjustment followed by two annual escalation adjustments. General rate applications are normally filed and processed during the last year covered by the most recent general rate case as required by the CPUC in order to avoid any gaps in regulatory decisions on general rate adjustments.
Cost of capital adjustments are rate adjustments resulting from the CPUC’s usual tri-annual establishment of a reasonable rate of return for SJWC’s capital investments.
The purpose of an offset rate adjustment is to compensate utilities for changes in specific pre-authorized offsettable capital investments or expenses, primarily for purchased water, groundwater extraction, purchased power and pensions. Pursuant to Section 792.5 of the California Public Utilities Code, a balancing account must be maintained for each expense item for which such revenue offsets have been authorized. Memorandum accounts track revenue impacts due to catastrophic events, certain unforeseen water quality expenses related to new federal and state water quality standards, energy efficiency, water conservation during periods of mandated water restrictions, water tariffs and other approved activities or as directed by the CPUC. The purpose of balancing and memorandum accounts is to track the under-collection or over-collection associated with such expense changes and activities for future recovery or refund considerations.
On March 17, 2020, the CPUC ordered its regulated water utilities to halt customer disconnection activities in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic. On April 2, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued Executive Order N-42-20 suspending customer disconnection activities until further notice. On April 16, 2020, the CPUC issued Resolution M-4842 directing utilities to implement emergency customer protections to assist customers such as waiving reconnection deposits, offering payment arrangements, and suspending disconnections for nonpayment. This resolution was effective for up to one year, or April 15, 2021, with the option to extend. On February 11, 2021, the CPUC approved Resolution M-4849 extending customer protections required in Resolution M-4842 through June 30, 2021. The resolution also requires water utilities to develop a transition plan regarding shutoffs and terminations with customers once the moratorium ends. On April 1, 2021, SJWC filed Advice Letter 560 which includes such plan and the filing was approved on June 16, 2021. On June 11, 2021, Governor Newsom issued Executive Order N-08-21 which initially ended the suspension on customer disconnection activities on September 30, 2021. On June 16, 2021, the CPUC directed its regulated water utilities to extend the suspension on customer disconnection activities through September 30, 2021, in response to the Governor’s order. On June 23, 2021, SJWC filed Advice Letter 565 to extend Resolution M-4849’s emergency customer protections through September 30, 2021. This advice letter was approved on July 1, 2021. On July 20, 2021, the CPUC directed its regulated water utilities to continue to suspend customer disconnection activities until the sooner of further notice and direction from the CPUC or until February 1, 2022. On September 23, 2021, Governor Newsom approved Senate Bill 155, which included a provision extending the water shutoff moratorium through December 31, 2021.
SJWC filed Advice Letter No. 556 on November 16, 2020, with the CPUC requesting authorization to increase its revenue requirement by $11.8 million or 3.04% in 2021 for the final escalation year authorized in our 2018 General Rate Case Decision No. 18-011-025 which established rates for 2019, 2020, and 2021. This advice letter was approved on December 17, 2020, and new rates became effective January 1, 2021.
On January 4, 2021, SJWC filed General Rate Case Application No. 21-01-003 requesting authority for an increase of revenue of $51.6 million or 13.35% in 2022, $16.9 million or 3.88% in 2023, and $19.2 million or 4.24% in 2024. The application also includes requests to recover $18.5 million from balancing and memorandum accounts, authorization for a $435.0 million capital budget, further alignment between actual and authorized usage, and a shift to greater revenue collection in the service charge.
5
The application will undergo a year-long review process and new rates, if approved, are expected to be effective by the second quarter of 2022. Due to the processing delay, SJWC filed Advice Letter No. 573 on December 30, 2021, to request interim rates effective January 1, 2022, which will allow SJWC to retroactively apply approved rates to January 1, 2022. Interim rates are proposed to be set equal to present rates in order to avoid customer confusion and short-term bill changes. This advice letter was approved with an effective date of January 1, 2022. SJWC and the Public Advocates Office filed a settlement agreement resolving all issues in the proceeding on January 13, 2022, which will be considered by the CPUC for adoption. The settlement recognizes the need for continued investments in the water system to deliver safe and reliable water service. Additionally, it further aligns authorized and actual consumption, particularly for business customers, addresses our water supply mix challenge, and provides greater revenue recovery in the fixed charge.
On May 3, 2021, SJWC filed Application No. 21-05-004 requesting authority to adjust its cost of capital for the period from January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2024. The request seeks a revenue increase of $6.4 million or 1.61% in 2022. The application also proposes a rate of return of 8.11%, an increase from the current rate of 7.64%, a decrease in the average cost of debt rate from 6.20% to 5.48%, and a return of equity of 10.30%, an increase from the current rate of 8.90%. In addition, the request seeks to adjust SJWC’s currently authorized capital structure of approximately 47% debt and 53% equity to approximately 45% debt and 55% equity. If approved, rates are expected to be effective in the third quarter of 2022.
On May 27, 2021, SJWC filed Advice Letter No. 561/561A with the CPUC requesting authorization to increase revenue by $17.3 million or 4.34% to recover the increases to purchased potable water charges, the groundwater extraction fee, and purchased recycled water charges implemented by Santa Clara Valley Water District (“Valley Water”) and South Bay Water Recycling. This advice letter was approved with an effective date of July 1, 2021.
On June 9, 2021, Valley Water declared a water shortage emergency and mandated its retailers to reduce consumption by 15% based on 2019’s volume. On June 18, 2021, SJWC filed Advice Letter No. 563 with the CPUC to activate Stage 3 of its Rule 14.1, Water Shortage Contingency Plan, in response to Valley Water’s declaration of drought emergency and call for 15% mandatory conservation. Advice Letter No. 564 was also filed on June 9, 2021, to establish a Water Conservation Memorandum Account to track the revenue impact of authorized versus actual water consumption and the incremental expenses required to implement our mandatory water conservation plan. Similar memorandum accounts were authorized during the previous drought. Advice Letters No. 564 and 563 were approved with the effective dates of July 20, 2021, and August 5, 2021, respectively.
On August 5, 2021, SJWC filed Advice Letter No. 567 with the CPUC requesting authorization to update its Drought Allocations and Drought Surcharges program contained within its Schedule 14.1. This filing updates the program developed during the drought of 2014-2017. Advice Letter No. 567 was approved with an effective date of September 6, 2021. This approval does not authorize program activation.
On October 15, 2021, SJWC filed Advice Letter No. 569 with the CPUC requesting authorization to activate Schedule 14.1 effective November 15, 2021, as approved in Advice Letter No. 567. The drought surcharges collected will be used to offset the revenue losses tracked in the Water Conservation Memorandum Account authorized in Advice Letter No. 564. This advice letter was approved with an effective date of November 15, 2021.
Connecticut Regulatory Affairs
Connecticut Water’s rates, service and other matters affecting its business are subject to regulation by The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority of Connecticut (“PURA”).
PURA allows the Connecticut regulated operations to add surcharges to customers’ bills in order to recover certain costs associated with approved eligible capital projects through the Water Infrastructure Conservation Adjustment (“WICA”) in between full rate cases, as well as approved surcharges for the Water Revenue Adjustment (“WRA”).
Connecticut Water mitigates the risk associated with changes in demand through a PURA approved WRA mechanism. The WRA is used to reconcile actual water demands with the demands projected in the most recent general rate case and allows companies to implement a surcharge or surcredit as necessary to recover the revenues approved in the general rate case. The WRA removes the financial disincentive for water utilities to develop and implement effective water conservation programs. The WRA allows water companies to defer on the balance sheet, as a regulatory asset or liability, for later collection from or crediting to customers the amount by which actual revenues deviate from the revenues allowed in the most recent general rate proceedings. Projects eligible for WICA surcharges include certain types of aging utility plant, primarily water mains, meters, and service lines. Additionally, certain energy conservation projects, improvements required to comply with streamflow regulations, and improvements to acquired systems are eligible for WICA surcharges.
On October 28, 2020, Connecticut Water filed a WICA application representing an additional 1.11% surcharge or approximately $1.0 million increase in revenues, for a cumulative WICA surcharge of 6.94% which became effective April 1, 2021. Additionally, on February 1, 2021, Connecticut Water and the Avon Water division separately filed their annual WICA
6
reconciliation which called for a 0.09% increase and 0.80% reduction of the WICA surcharge, respectively. On March 3, 2021, in separate decisions, PURA approved a net cumulative 7.03% WICA surcharge for Connecticut Water and a net cumulative 8.51% WICA surcharge for the Avon Water division, both of which became effective on customers’ bills on April 1, 2021. The WICA surcharge was reset to zero as part of the July 28, 2021 rate case decision, and remained zero until December 31, 2021.
On January 15, 2021, Connecticut Water filed an application with PURA to amend rates for its customers, including the divisions of Avon Water and Heritage Village Water. The filing requests an increase of $20.2 million in annual revenues that includes more than $265.5 million in completed infrastructure investments that are not currently in approved rates and surcharges. On July 28, 2021, Connecticut Water received the final decision approving an increase of $5.2 million in annual revenues, a return on equity of 9.0%, with new rates effective July 28, 2021. The final decision also approved a low-income rate, tiered block rate structure for residential water customers and the cost of debt and equity percentage as requested. The final decision did not include all of the requested pro forma plant in service due to the timing of its completion. However, no plant was disallowed. Connecticut Water will seek recovery for the projects in the future. The portion of plant which is eligible for recovery through WICA was included in the October 26, 2021 WICA filing discussed below or will be included in future WICA filings. In addition, the final decision reset WICA, which was approaching its statutory caps, to zero. On August 11, 2021, Connecticut Water filed a petition for reconsideration with PURA to consider matters specific to excess deferred income taxes contained in the July 28, 2021 decision. The proposed increased revenues associated with the petition is $2.2 million. On November 17, 2021, PURA issued a final decision approving $2.1 million of Connecticut Water’s request.
On October 26, 2021, Connecticut Water filed for a WICA increase of approximately $21.7 million in completed projects. Many of the projects were those that were not considered by PURA in the rate case because of the deadline in the proceeding for pro forma capital additions. On December 22, 2021, PURA approved a WICA surcharge of 2.44% to be added to bills of all Connecticut Water customers, including those of the former The Avon Water Company and The Heritage Village Water Company, effective January 1, 2022 which is expected to generate approximately $2.6 million in additional revenue.
Long-term debt issuances for Connecticut Water require regulatory authorization which is typically obtained for a specified amount of debt to be issued during a specified period of time. On March 16, 2021, Connecticut Water filed for PURA approval for the issuance of up to $100.0 million of long-term borrowings in 2021. Connecticut Water received approval of the financings from PURA on June 9, 2021.
Texas Regulatory Affairs
CLWSC’s rates are subject to the economic regulation of the Public Utilities Commission of Texas (“PUCT”). The PUCT may authorize rate increases after the filing of an Application for a Rate/Tariff Change. Rate cases may be filed as they become necessary, provided there is no current rate case outstanding. Furthermore, rate cases may not be filed more frequently than once every 12 months.
On January 29, 2021, CLWSC submitted its Water Pass-Through Charge (“WPC”) true-up report for the Canyon Lake area water systems’ 2020 purchased water costs. The WPC is the annual filing to update the monthly per thousand gallons charge for changes in purchased water costs since the last annual true-up report. The 2020 WPC true-up report resulted in a reduction of the WPC usage rate from $0.95 dollars to $0.70 dollars per thousand gallons which became effective on March 1, 2021. In August 2021, the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority (“GBRA”) increased its debt service rate by 82% and announced a 15% increase in the Operations & Maintenance rate and a 4% increase in the firm water rate effective September 1, 2021. CLWSC filed its annual WPC true-up report on January 31, 2022 under Docket No. 53173. The 2022 WPC usage rate will increase from $0.70 to $1.02 dollars per thousand gallons due to CLWSC under-collecting the actual cost of purchased water and GBRA increasing its rates. The new usage rate will be effective starting March 1, 2022.
The Deer Creek Ranch water system has a separate WPC. A WPC filing for Deer Creek Ranch is required only when there is a change in purchased water costs. CLWSC received notice of an increase of 4% for the Deer Creek purchased water cost from West Travis Public Utility Agency (“WTPUA”), effective in October 2021. SJWTX also received notice from the Lower Colorado River Authority (“LCRA”) of an increase of 7% per acre-foot for the firm water rate and the reservation rate. The WPC true-up report for this system was submitted on December 1, 2021, which will result in an increase in the usage charge from $1.84 to $1.87 dollars per thousand gallons, and an increase in the monthly base charge of $1.04 dollars per residential account effective January 1, 2022.
A disaster declaration was issued on February 12, 2021, by the PUCT because of severe winter weather. The PUCT issued orders under Docket No. 51812-6 which prohibited disconnections for non-payment, suspended the rules for late fees and interest, and allowed for estimated billing for the duration of the disaster declaration. On March 5, 2021, the PUCT reinstituted the utilities’ ability to resume charging late fees, and on June 15, 2021, removed the prohibition on disconnections for non-payment. The Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill No. 3 on August 6, 2021. Under this bill, utilities are obligated to report to the PUCT steps they are taking to mitigate the type of long-term power outages experienced during the February 2021 storm.
7
CLWSC filed its emergency preparedness plans under Docket No. 52299 on November 1, 2021. CLWSC expects to incur capital expenditures related to meeting these new requirements, largely for procurement of backup generators.
On June 28, 2021, CLWSC announced that it reached an agreement to acquire the Kendall West and Bandera East utilities in Bandera, Kendall, and Medina counties in Texas and that change in ownership applications had been filed with the PUCT under Docket No. 52281. The PUCT approved the acquisition on December 10, 2021 and the transaction closed on December 17, 2021. The acquisition increased CLWSC’s customers served by 1,600 service connections. Rates will remain the same for those customers of the acquired Certificate of Convenience and Necessity.
Maine Regulatory Affairs
Maine Water’s rates, service and other matters affecting its business are subject to regulation by the Maine Public Utilities Commission (“MPUC”). MPUC approves rates on a division-by-division basis in Maine and allows Maine Water to add surcharges to customers’ bills in order to recover certain costs associated with capital projects through the Water Infrastructure Surcharge (“WISC”) in between general rate cases. Projects eligible for WISC surcharges include all infrastructure replacement or repair projects, excluding meters, that are necessary for the transmission, distribution or treatment of water.
MPUC is authorized to allow a WRA mechanism to regulated water utilities. Maine’s rate-adjustment mechanism could provide revenue stabilization in divisions with declining water consumption and Maine Water expects to request usage of this mechanism in future rate filings when consumption trends support its use.
On June 17, 2020, the MPUC approved a general rate increase for Skowhegan Division customers allowing $0.2 million in additional revenue. Per the MPUC decision, the increase was implemented in two steps: an initial 9.80% rate increase effective June 15, 2020, and a 3.51% rate increase effective July 1, 2021. The combined rate increase is 13.31%.
On March 10, 2021, Maine Water filed a general rate increase application for the Biddeford Saco Division seeking approximately $6.7 million, or 77.5%, in additional revenue. The application proposed a three step, multi-year rate plan designed to ease the transition to higher water bills over the period from July 2021 to July 2023. The primary driver for the increase in rates is the support for a new drinking water treatment facility on the Saco River, a $60.0 million project to replace the existing facility that is expected to be in service in the second quarter of 2022. On June 23, 2021, the MPUC approved the first step in the plan by adopting the proposed rate smoothing mechanism and implementing a temporary 22.65% surcharge on all customer bills. The surcharge will be in effect for one year. On September 8, 2021, Maine Water filed a supplemental application to update its request to increase base rates, initiating the second step in the rate plan. The supplemental application updates the March application and seeks $6.9 million, or 80.1% in additional revenue and provides a bill credit funded by the year one surcharge to offset a portion of the increase. The bill credit will be in effect for one year. A decision on the requested revenue increase is expected in the second quarter of 2022, corresponding with the completion of the new water treatment facility.
On October 28, 2021, Maine Water filed a WISC application with the MPUC for the Skowhegan division requesting an increase of 3%, representing approximately $0.1 million in additional revenues. The WISC application was approved on December 27, 2021, and the surcharge became effective January 1, 2022.
Please also see Item 1A , “Risk Factors,” Item 7 , “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” and Note 3 of “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.”
Description of Business
General
The principal business of Water Utility Services consists of the production, purchase, storage, purification, distribution, wholesale and retail sale of water and wastewater services. SJWC provides water services to approximately 231,000 connections that serve approximately one million people residing in portions of the cities of San Jose and Cupertino and in the cities of Campbell, Monte Sereno, Saratoga and in the Town of Los Gatos, and adjacent unincorporated territories, all in the County of Santa Clara in the State of California. The CTWS companies provide water service to approximately 140,000 service connections that serve a population of approximately 456,000 people in 81 municipalities with a service area of approximately 269 square miles throughout Connecticut and Maine and 3,000 wastewater connections in Southbury, Connecticut. CLWSC provides water service to approximately 24,000 service connections that serve approximately 70,000 people in a service area comprising more than 266 square miles in the region between San Antonio and Austin, Texas. Together, the Water Utility Services distribute water to customers in their respective service areas in accordance with accepted water utility methods.
SJWC, Connecticut Water and Maine Water provide non-tariffed services under agreements with municipalities and other utilities. These non-tariffed services include water system operations, maintenance agreements and antenna site leases. In addition, in October 1997, SJWC commenced operation of the City of Cupertino municipal water system under a 25-year lease
8
which is due to expire in September of 2022 and was amended on January 8, 2020. The system is adjacent to the SJWC service area and has approximately 4,600 service connections. Under the terms of the lease, SJWC paid an upfront $6.8 million concession fee to the City of Cupertino that is being amortized over the contract term. SJWC assumed responsibility for all maintenance and operating costs of the system, while receiving all payments for water service. Under the terms of the amended lease agreement in 2020, SJWC agreed to make an additional up-front payment of $5 million that could be used to invest in capital improvements in Cupertino’s water system prior to the expiration of the lease. Any unspent funds at lease termination remain the property Cupertino. On November 2, 2021, the City of Cupertino approved another amendment to the current lease agreement executed on January 8, 2020. This second amendment provides the City of Cupertino options to extend the lease agreement by periods of six months, two years, or three years with modifications of additional capital improvement funds of $0.4 million, $1.6 million and $2.5 million, respectively, depending on the lease extension period option. These options are intended to provide the City of Cupertino more time, if needed, to complete its RFP process for a new lease term and conduct analyses of other alternatives for the operation of the water system.
CTWS provides contracted services to water utilities, as well as offers Linebacker® protection plans for public drinking water customers in the States of Connecticut and Maine. Linebacker plans cover a limited amount of the cost of repairs to water and wastewater service lines and in-home plumbing. Services provided are dependent on the selected plan.
SJW Land Company owns undeveloped real estate property in California and Tennessee, as well as commercial and warehouse properties in Tennessee. Chester Realty, Inc. owns commercial properties and parcels of land in Connecticut.
Among other things, operating results from the water business fluctuate according to the demand for water, which is often influenced by seasonal conditions, such as impact of drought, summer temperatures or the amount and timing of precipitation in Water Utility Services’ service areas. Revenue, production expenses and income are affected by changes in water sales and the availability of surface water supply. Overhead costs, such as payroll and benefits, depreciation, interest on long-term debt, and property taxes, remain fairly constant despite variations in the amount of water sold. As a result, earnings are highest in the higher demand, warm summer months and lowest in the lower demand, cool winter months.
Water Supply
California Water Supply
SJWC’s water supply consists of groundwater from wells, surface water from watershed run-off and diversion, reclaimed water, and imported water purchased from Valley Water under the terms of a master contract with Valley Water expiring in 2051. During normal rainfall years, purchased water provides approximately 40% to 50% of SJWC’s annual production. An additional 40% to 50% of its water supply is pumped from the underground basin which is subject to a groundwater extraction charge paid to Valley Water. Surface supply, which during a normal rainfall year satisfies about 6% to 8% of SJWC’s annual water supply needs, provides approximately 1% of its water supply in a dry year and approximately 14% in a wet year. In dry years, the decrease in water from surface run-off and diversion and the corresponding increase in purchased and pumped water increases production expenses substantially.
The pumps and motors at SJWC’s groundwater production facilities are propelled by electric power. SJWC has installed standby power generators at 38 of its strategic water production sites and manages a fleet of 21 portable generators deployed throughout the distribution system for power outages at remaining pumping facilities. In addition, the commercial office and operations control centers are outfitted with standby power equipment that allow critical distribution and customer service operations to continue during a power outage. Valley Water has informed SJWC that its filter plants, which deliver purchased water to SJWC, are also equipped with standby generators. In the event of a power outage, SJWC believes it will be able to prevent an interruption of service to customers for a limited period by pumping water using generator power and by using purchased water from Valley Water.
In 2021, the level of water in the Santa Clara Valley groundwater basin, which is managed by the Valley Water, experienced a decrease due to an increase in groundwater pumping by various water retailers in the region, and lower than normal local rainfall and natural recharge. As reported by Valley Water at the end of 2021, the groundwater level in the Santa Clara Plain was 2 feet lower compared to the same time in 2020. The total groundwater storage at the end of 2021 was within Stage 1 (Normal) of the Valley Water’s Water Shortage Contingency Plan. On January 1, 2022, Valley Water’s 10 reservoirs were 28% of capacity with 46,318 acre-feet of water in storage. As of December 31, 2021, SJWC’s Lake Elsman was 58.8% of capacity with 3,615 acre-feet of water, approximately 121.1% of the five-year seasonal average. In addition, the rainfall at SJWC’s Lake Elsman was measured at 32.17 inches for the period from July 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021, which is 257.8% of the five-year average. Subsequent to December 31, 2021, California has returned to drier than normal weather patterns. Local surface water is a less costly source of water than groundwater or purchased water and its availability significantly impacts SJWC’s results of operations. SJWC’s Montevina Water Treatment Plant treated 1,350 acre-feet of water in 2021, which is 20.2% of the five-year average. SJWC believes that its various sources of water supply will be sufficient to meet customer demand in 2022.
9
On June 9, 2021, Valley Water declared a water shortage emergency and asked its retailers to reduce consumption by 15% based on 2019 usage. In response to Valley Water’s declaration of drought emergency and call for conservation, SJWC filed with the CPUC to activate Stage 3 of its Rule 14.1 Water Shortage Contingency Plan. Like the most recent drought, the current restrictions center on outdoor water usage which typically accounts for half of a residential customer’s consumption. The restrictions include limits on watering days and times, use of potable water for washing structures and other non-porous surfaces except to protect public health and safety, and no outdoor watering during and up to 48 hours after measurable rainfall.
California also faces long-term water supply challenges. SJWC actively works with Valley Water to meet the challenges by continuing to educate customers on responsible water use practices and conducting long-range water supply planning.
Connecticut Water Supply
Connecticut Water’s infrastructure consists of 65 noncontiguous water systems in the State of Connecticut. These systems, in total, consist of approximately 1,800 miles of water main and reservoir storage capacity of 2.4 billion gallons. The safe, dependable yield from 235 active wells and 18 surface water supplies is approximately 65 million gallons per day. Water sources vary among the individual systems, but overall approximately 80% of the total dependable yield comes from surface water supplies and 20% from wells. The Connecticut water utilities supplement their water supplies with purchase water contracts with neighboring utilities.
Texas Water Supply
CLWSC’s water supply consists of groundwater from wells and purchased treated and raw water from the GBRA. CLWSC has long-term agreements with the GBRA, which expire in 2037, 2040, 2044 and 2050. The agreements, which are take-or-pay contracts, provide CLWSC with an aggregate of 7,650 acre-feet of water per year from Canyon Lake at prices that may be adjusted periodically by GBRA. CLWSC also has raw water supply agreements with the LCRA and WTPUA expiring in 2059 and 2046, respectively, to provide for 250 acre-feet of water per year from Lake Austin and the Colorado River, respectively, at prices that may be adjusted periodically by the agencies.
Maine Water Supply
Maine Water’s infrastructure consists of 12 noncontiguous water systems in the State of Maine. These systems, in total, consists of approximately 600 miles of water main and reservoir storage capacity of 7.0 billion gallons. The safe, dependable yield from our 14 active wells and 7 surface water supplies is approximately 120 million gallons per day. Water sources vary among the individual systems, but overall approximately 90% of the total dependable yield comes from surface water supplies and 10% from wells.
Maine Water relies on legislatively granted water rights in order to serve customers. In some instances, these rights were granted to predecessor water companies specially chartered by the Maine legislature many decades ago, with those entities later having been merged into Maine Water. The legislation incorporating these predecessor water companies did not address whether chartered rights may be transferred to another entity without special legislative action. The Maine Business Corporation Act generally provides that property and contract rights of a merged corporation are vested in the surviving corporation without reversion or impairment. In the MPUC proceedings that approved the mergers of these Maine Water predecessor companies, the survivorship of water rights was not contested.
Please also see further discussion under Item 1A , “Risk Factors” and Item 7 , “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”
Franchises
Franchises granted by local jurisdictions permit Water Utility Services to construct, maintain, and operate water distribution systems within the streets and other public properties of a given jurisdiction.
SJWC holds the necessary franchises to provide water in portions of the cities of San Jose and Cupertino and in the cities of Campbell, Monte Sereno and Saratoga, the Town of Los Gatos and the unincorporated areas of Santa Clara County. None of the franchises have a termination date, other than the franchise for the unincorporated areas of Santa Clara County, which terminates in 2035.
Connecticut Water’s utility services hold the necessary franchises to provide water in portions of the towns of Ashford, Avon, Beacon Falls, Bethany, Bolton, Brooklyn, Burlington, Canton, Chester, Clinton, Colchester, Columbia, Coventry, Deep River, Durham, East Granby, East Haddam, East Hampton, East Windsor, Ellington, Enfield, Essex, Farmington, Griswold, Guilford, Haddam, Hebron, Killingly, Killingworth, Lebanon, Madison, Manchester, Mansfield, Marlborough, Middlebury, Naugatuck, Old Lyme, Old Saybrook, Oxford, Plainfield, Plymouth, Portland, Prospect, Simsbury, Somers, Southbury, South Windsor, Stafford, Stonington, Suffield, Thomaston, Thompson, Tolland, Vernon, Voluntown, Waterbury, Westbrook, Willington, Windsor Locks and Woodstock. Additionally, the Heritage Village Water division serves the Town of Southbury with wastewater services. None of the franchises of the Connecticut water utility services have a termination date.
10
Maine Water holds franchises necessary to provide water services in the towns served are Biddeford, Saco, Old Orchard Beach, Scarborough (Pine Point), Porter, Parsonsfield, Hiram, Freeport, Camden, Rockland, Rockport, Owls Head, Union, Thomaston, Warren, Bucksport, Skowhegan, Oakland, Hartland, Millinocket and Greenville. None of the franchises with Maine Water have a termination date.
CLWSC holds the franchises necessary to provide water and wastewater services to the City of Bulverde and the City of Spring Branch, which terminate in 2029 and 2036, respectively. The unincorporated areas that CLWSC serves in Comal, Blanco, Bandera, Hays, Kendall, Medina and Travis Counties do not require water service providers to obtain franchises.
Seasonal Factors
Water sales are seasonal in nature and influenced by weather conditions. The timing of precipitation and climatic conditions can cause seasonal water consumption by customers to vary significantly. Demand for water is generally lower during the cooler and rainy winter months. Demand increases in the spring when the temperature rises and rain diminishes.
Competition
The regulated operations of Water Utility Services are public utilities regulated by the CPUC in California, PURA in Connecticut, PUCT in Texas and MPUC in Maine (collectively, “the Regulators”) and operate within service areas approved by the regulators. Statutory laws provide that no other investor-owned public utility may operate in the service area of another public utility of the same class (e.g., another water utility) without first obtaining from the regulator a certificate of public convenience and necessity or similar authorization. Past experience shows such a certificate will be issued only after demonstrating that service in such area is inadequate.
California law also provides that whenever a public agency constructs facilities to extend utility service to the service area of a privately-owned public utility, like SJWC, such an act constitutes the taking of property and is conditioned upon payment of just compensation to the private utility.
Under the California law, municipalities, water districts and other public agencies have been authorized to engage in the ownership and operation of water systems. Such agencies are empowered to condemn properties operated by privately-owned public utilities upon payment of just compensation and are further authorized to issue bonds (including revenue bonds) for the purpose of acquiring or constructing water systems.
Under Connecticut law, any condemnation of water utility property by a municipality or any unit of state government requires the payment of just compensation for the taking. Further, any condemnation of utility land by a state department, institution or agency (including a municipality) requires the approval of the PURA.
Under Texas law, municipalities, water districts and other public agencies are authorized to engage in the ownership and operation of water systems. Such entities are empowered to acquire property, whether public or private, real or personal, by the exercise of the right of eminent domain, which entails payment to the owner of just compensation for the property taken. However, under current case law those entities may not exercise that right of eminent domain to take the entire operation of an investor-owned utility.
Under Maine law, municipalities-individually and collectively, consumer-owned and standard water districts, and other public agencies are authorized to engage in the ownership and operation of water systems. Such entities may acquire the real and personal property of a privately-owned water company, and take over the company’s operations, by exercising the power of eminent domain. In such a taking, the acquiring entity must furnish the condemnee just compensation.
To the company’s knowledge, no municipality, water district or other public agency has any pending proceeding to condemn any part of its existing water systems. The company is also unaware of any eminent domain proceeding to take any of its property or operations.
Environmental Matters
Water Utility Services produce potable water and generates wastewater and hazardous wastes in accordance with all applicable county, state and federal environmental rules and regulations. Additionally, public utilities are subject to environmental regulation by various other state and local governmental authorities.
Water Utility Services is currently in compliance with all of the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (the “EPA”) surface water treatment performance standards, drinking water standards for disinfection by-products and primary maximum contaminant levels. These standards have been adopted and are enforced by the California State Water Board, Division of Drinking Water, the Connecticut Department of Public Health, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for SJWC, Connecticut Water, Maine Water and CLWSC, respectively.
Other state and local environmental regulations apply to our Water Utility Services’ operations and facilities. These regulations relate primarily to the handling, storage and disposal of hazardous materials and discharges to the environment, including
11
wastewater operations in the States of Connecticut and Texas. In 2016, SJWC began performing hazardous materials site assessments and remediation prior to the construction phase of capital projects. The site assessments are performed to remove any legacy materials and to obtain site closures from the Santa Clara County Department of Environmental Health under its Voluntary Cleanup Program.
Water Utility Services are currently in compliance with all state and local public health and environmental regulations applicable to their operations.
Please also see Part II, Item 7 , “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”
Human Capital Resources
In order to continue to achieve SJW Group’s mission of delivering life sustaining, high-quality water and exceptional service to families, businesses and communities, we are committed to attract, retain and develop the highest quality talent. We believe our employees are our most important asset. Throughout our organization, our employees embrace the company’s values of integrity, respect, service, compassion, trust, teamwork and transparency in everything we do. Employees participate in semi- annual employee engagement and satisfaction surveys providing feedback that enables the Company to continually assess and implement initiatives to enhance employee satisfaction and retention. Through our board and its committees, we are empowered to address factors that impact our employee strategy and drive positive change in our company and our communities. Our human capital measures and objectives focus on providing a safe and productive work environment that has clear positive and ethical values; a culture that embraces diversity, respect and equity; jobs that offer fair wages as benchmarked to the markets that we live and work in; competitive wages and benefits; and training and development opportunities that support our employees to establish and succeed in meaningful careers at SJW Group.
Basic Workforce Data
As of December 31, 2021, SJW Group had 751 full-time employees, of whom 362 were SJWC employees, 228 were Connecticut Water employees, 84 were CLWSC employees, and 77 were Maine Water employees. At SJWC, 226 employees are members of unions. Employees working for Connecticut Water, Maine Water and CLWSC are not represented by unions.
On November 12, 2019 and February 20, 2020, SJWC reached three-year bargaining agreements with the International Union of Operating Engineers, representing certain employees in the engineering department, and the Utility Workers of America, representing the majority of all non-administrative employees at SJWC covering the period from January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2022. The agreements include a 3% wage increase in 2020, 3% in 2021 and 4% in 2022 for the union workers.
Employee Safety and Pandemic Response
Aiming for a “zero-harm” culture, our vision is to manage health and safety performance to become a leader in the water services industry. Protecting the health and safety of our employees is a top priority. Our employee health and safety programs, focus on four core elements:
• Safety Leadership: demonstrating management commitment and support, empowering local teams to be accountable for safety;
• Participation: involving every employee in all aspects of the safety program, connecting safety initiatives to serving employees, customers, shareholders, our communities and the environment;
• Hazard Identification and Control: inspecting workplaces, identifying hazards, implementing controls, and partnering with the front-line teams responsible for delivering reliable, clean, safe drinking water and service; and,
• Training: training employees on hazards and how to protect themselves. Incident and crisis management of both known and unknown threats to employee health and safety are anticipated and planned for by our safety team.
Our 2021 Sustainability Plan incorporates specific targets that set the trajectory of our safety program to ensure continuous improvement, including:
• Implement processes and systems to track, monitor, report and continually improve health and safety performance;
• Communicate the updated Health and Safety Policy to employees to promote compliance, consultation, and participation of workers on health and safety matters; and
• Strive for zero accidents and injuries.
We have implemented several management systems to plan and respond to workplace safety and training as well as incidents such as pandemics, wildfires, earthquakes, cyber threats and extreme weather, among others. The goal is to safeguard our employees’ health and safety during local, national, or global incidents. Locally, workplace hazards are identified by onsite inspections and from near-miss investigations. More broadly, the team collaborates to anticipate and plan for external events
12
such as pandemic or for extreme weather or other external events that could impact our operations. Proactive identification of hazards keeps us one step ahead of our constantly changing workplace conditions.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, SJW Group’s primary focus has been to protect the health and safety of employees, customers and the community from the spread of the disease in the workplace, while continuing to deliver reliable, clean and safe drinking water and service. Beginning in March 2020, with additional COVID-19 protections in place, we paused all non-essential services for two months; transitioned our office employees to company-wide remote work; and dispatched field service employees from their homes to minimize transmission of the virus. As the pandemic and knowledge of the virus evolved, our safety, human resources and operations teams implemented additional guidance protocols with a focus on cleaning and disinfection of facilities, vehicles, and tools; implementing engineering and administrative controls such as social distancing; and wearing face coverings to limit the transmission of the virus. In response to various stay-at-home government orders, we implemented policies and procedures to provide the flexibility to employees who are able to work from home and support remote-working by upgrading technology infrastructure, enhancing IT capabilities and implementing processes to facilitate online and remote communications. In an effort to ensure the safety and protection of our workplace and those customers and vendors with whom we serve and work, SJW Group announced a universal vaccination requirement for all employees by January 17, 2022 for three of our operating utilities and by February 14, 2022 at SJWC. On January 22, 2022, SJWC received a letter from the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) stating that it would investigate the allegations from the Utility Workers Union of America Local 259 that SJWC failed to bargain in good faith by imposing a COVID vaccine mandate and threatening to terminate noncompliant employees and for, otherwise, failing to bargain over its decision to impose the mandate. SJWC intends to cooperate with the NLRB’s investigation requests for affidavits from SJWC management and relevant documents. We continue to actively monitor all evolving federal, state and local guidance from public health authorities to ensure that our measures are in compliance with such rules and regulations and are effective in the continually changing pandemic environment.
Diversity and Inclusion
SJW Group believes that a workplace supporting diversity and inclusion not only promotes equity, teamwork, productivity and collaboration among employees, but also enables us to provide the best services to our customers, communities, and partners and enhance value for our stockholders. We are committed to fostering and maintaining a culture of diversity and inclusion, and we have been tracking our workforce demographics to identify employee teams, geographies, or seniority levels where hiring of minorities or specific demographic representation needs to be addressed. In 2021, CEO Eric Thornburg signed on to the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™ CEO pledge, which outlines a specific set of actions the signatory CEOs will take to cultivate a trusting environment where all ideas are welcomed and employees feel comfortable and empowered to have discussions about diversity and inclusion. The Company’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council has implemented several impactful initiatives in 2021, including ongoing education and communications and an unconscious bias training program for all employees. We work to ensure training and development opportunities are available so that all employees can establish and succeed in meaningful careers at SJW Group. In addition, we currently comply with California’s board diversity legislation requiring a minimum number of female directors and directors from underrepresented communities on our board of directors.
Community Involvement
In support of our mission as trusted, passionate and socially responsible professionals, we are dedicated to the people and the environment of the communities where we live, work, and serve. SJW Group provides various opportunities for our employees to participate in outreach programs from free virtual education programs for adults, employee-led courses for elementary school aged children, winter coat donation drives, environmental cleanups, community events, and grant programs supporting schools and fire departments. In addition, each of our subsidiaries supports their communities through charitable donations or sponsorships with a focus on the communities served. SJWC and Connecticut Water also have matching donations for certain programs to further promote our employees’ involvement in their communities. In California, the SJWC Employees Community Fund is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that uses funds from employee contributions and company matches to provide grants to non-profit organizations supported by our employees.
Fair Wages and Competitive Benefits
SJW Group’s future success is largely dependent upon our ability to attract and retain highly-skilled and qualified employees. Our California and Connecticut subsidiaries operate in particularly competitive labor markets, we believe our compensation package and benefit programs allow us to recruit and retain talented and qualified personnel. Our compensation and benefits programs include:
• Fair employee wages as benchmarked to the markets that our employees live and work in that are consistent with employee roles and responsibilities, skill levels, experience, and knowledge;
13
• Engagement of nationally, recognized outside compensation and benefits consulting firms to independently evaluate the appropriateness and effectiveness of compensation for our executive and other officers and to provide benchmarks for executive compensation as compared to peer companies;
• Short-term incentive compensation for management level staff aligning with company financial and operational goals targeted to our stakeholders: customers, communities, employees and stockholders;
• Alignment with stockholder value by utilizing equity awards linked to investment performance over time, as well as certain absolute financial results;
• A comprehensive annual employee performance review process pursuant to which we determine and communicate to employees annual merit increases, promotions and other changes to responsibilities and duties; and
• Eligibility for all employees to participate in health insurance, dental, vision, cafeteria plans, life and disability/accident coverage, retirement plans and/or salary deferral plans, an Employee Stock Purchase Plan, paid and unpaid leaves, a commuter assistance program, professional education and training, and tuition assistance.
14
Executive Officers of the Registrant
The following table summarizes the name, age, offices held and business experience for each of our executive officers, as of February 25, 2022:
Name Age Offices and Experience
Willie Brown 54 SJW Group— Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. Mr. Brown serves as Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of SJW Group and SJWC since June 1, 2021. Mr. Brown served as Corporate Secretary and Assistant General Counsel of SJW Group and SJWC since January 1, 2020. Since April 2018, Mr. Brown has served as counsel and Corporate Secretary of various subsidiaries of the Corporation. Since joining SJWC in 2008, Mr. Brown has held various legal positions of increasing scope and responsibly. Prior to joining SJWC, Mr. Brown was an associate at two Silicon Valley law firms and is a member of the State Bar of California.
Andrew R. Gere 55 SJWC—President and Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Gere serves as President since April 2016 and as Chief Operating Officer since April 2015. From 2013 to April 2015, Mr. Gere was Vice President of Operations. From 2008 to 2013, Mr. Gere was Chief of Operations. From 2006 to 2008, Mr. Gere was Director of Maintenance. From 2005 to 2006, Mr. Gere was Director of Operations and Water Quality. From 2003 to 2005, Mr. Gere was Manager of Operations and Water Quality. Mr. Gere has been with SJWC since 1995. From October 2019 to December 2020, Mr. Gere served as Chairman of the National Association of Water Companies.
Kristen A. Johnson 55 SJW Group—Chief Administrative Officer. Ms. Johnson serves as the Chief Administrative Officer of SJW Group and the Senior Vice President of Administration for CTWS and its subsidiaries since November 2019. Previously, Ms. Johnson served as Director of Human Resources, Vice President of Human Resources and the Vice President and Corporate Secretary of CTWS and its subsidiaries from 2007, 2008, and 2010, respectively. She served as the Corporate Secretary of Maine Water until July 2020.
James P. Lynch 62 SJW Group—Chief Accounting Officer. Mr. Lynch also serves as Chief Accounting Officer of SJWC and SJW Land Company since January 2022. Mr. Lynch served as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer until January 2022. He also served as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of SJWC, SJW Land Company, and SJWTX, Inc. from September 2010 until January 2022. He served as Treasurer of SJWTX Holdings, Inc. until January 2022. Mr. Lynch served as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Texas Water Alliance Limited from October 2010 until November 16, 2017. Prior to joining the Corporation Mr. Lynch was an Audit Partner with KPMG LLP. Mr. Lynch was with KPMG LLP for 26 years. Mr. Lynch is a certified public accountant.
Eric W. Thornburg 61 SJW Group—President, Chief Executive Officer and Chair of the Board. Mr. Thornburg serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of SJW Group and SJW Land Company and Chief Executive Officer of SJWC and SJWTX, Inc. since November 6, 2017. He has served as the Chair of the Board of Directors of SJW Group, SJWC, SJW Land Company and SJWTX, Inc. since April 25, 2018 and Chair of the Board of Directors of SJWNE LLC, CTWS and its subsidiaries since October 9, 2019. Prior to joining SJW Group, Mr. Thornburg served as President and Chief Executive Officer of CTWS since 2006, and Chair of the Board of CTWS since 2007. Mr. Thornburg served as President of Missouri-American Water, a subsidiary of American Water Works Corporation from 2000 to 2004. From July 2004 to January 2006, he served as Central Region Vice President-External Affairs for American Water Works Corporation.
Andrew F. Walters 51 SJW Group—Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. Mr. Walters serves as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of SJWC, SJW Land Company, and SJWTX, Inc. since January 2022. Mr. Walters served as Chief Corporate Development Officer and Integration Executive of SJW Group from November 2019 until January 2022 and previously served as Chief Administrative Officer of SJWC since January 31, 2014. Mr. Walters is also currently the Vice President of Business Planning of Connecticut Water Service, Inc. and Connecticut Water Company as of November 7, 2019. Prior to joining SJWC in 2014, Mr. Walters was a managing director and a senior acquisitions officer in the Infrastructure Investments Group of JP Morgan Asset Management from January 2009 to June 2013. Prior to this, Mr. Walters served in the Investment Banking Division of Citigroup as managing director and head of infrastructure for the Americas and in other roles focused on mergers and acquisitions and capital raising for clients, since 1993.
15
Maureen P. Westbrook 63 CTWS—President. Ms. Westbrook serves as the President of CTWS and its subsidiaries, except Maine Water, since December 2019 and President of SJWNE LLC since October 2019. Ms. Westbrook has been Chief Executive Officer of Maine Water since December 2019. Initially hired as Connecticut Water’s Manager of Source Protection, Ms. Westbrook has held various positions of increasing scope and responsibility. She had served as the Vice President of Customer and Regulatory Affairs of Connecticut Water since 2008, assuming that role for The Avon Water Company and The Heritage Village Water Company when those utilities were acquired by CTWS. Prior to joining Connecticut Water in 1988 she worked at the Connecticut Department of Public Health and in local and regional planning.
Available Information
SJW Group’s Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to these reports, are made available free of charge through SJW Group’s website at http://www.sjwgroup.com , as soon as reasonably practicable, after SJW Group electronically files such material with, or furnishes such materials to, the SEC. The content of SJW Group’s website is not incorporated by reference to or part of this report.
You may obtain electronic copies of our reports filed with the SEC on the SEC website at http://www.sec.gov .