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[Lloyd Danforth]

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Utility helps launch anti-takeover citizens? group


By KAREN SPILLER, Telegraph Staff
spillerk@telegraph-nh.com

Published: Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2005

Pennichuck Corp. has helped organize a citizens group in its effort to stop Nashua officials from pursuing the takeover of the company by eminent domain.

Pennichuck decided to help form the group, called SmartWater, two or three months ago after fielding calls, letters and e-mails from hundreds of concerned customers, Pennichuck Chief Executive Officer Don Correll said.

By midday today, Pennichuck will launch a Web site, www.smartwater.org, which will name Nashua-area citizens and organizations who have joined.

The company will announce more details today, including the group?s members, Correll said.

?They wanted to know what more they could do,? Correll said. ?We took the feedback we?ve gotten from a lot of the citizens, and worked with them (to come up with a vehicle) that might allow them to become a more cohesive voice.?

People who register at the SmartWater Web site will not only lend their names to the organization, but will also receive regular updates and e-mails about Public Utilities Commission hearings and any meetings the group may hold, Correll said.

?Whether they end up having meetings or start attending hearings or start supporting some candidate, that will be up to SmartWater,? Correll said. ?That?s not going to be up to us.?

Nashua has been trying to acquire the water utility since 2002, when Philadelphia Surburban Corp. offered to buy Pennichuck for $106 million. That deal fell through.

The city has been fighting to take the company by eminent domain ever since. City residents two years ago voted in favor of proceeding with the acquisition, and advocates for public control formed the Merrimack Valley Regional Water District last year to manage the water system if the city is successful in seizing it.

Pennichuck helped launch the new Web site, but SmartWater will be run by the citizens who sign up, Correll said.

?It?s their effort,? he said. ?We?re just helping facilitate it.?

In addition to TV advertising, Pennichuck has run a series of 40 newspaper advertisements, giving the company?s point of view on what it calls a ?hostile? takeover.

?This will be another place people will be able to see some of the information that?s germane to this,? Correll said of the Web site.

Karen Spiller can be reached at 594-6446 or spillerk@telegraph-nh.com.

[Pat McCotter]

IT'S BAAAAAAACK!

http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2005/11/16/state_supreme_court_says_nashua_can_take_over_water_utility
State Supreme Court says Nashua can proceed with utility takeover
November 16, 2005

CONCORD, N.H. --The state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the city of Nashua can proceed with its attempt to take over a water utility under New Hampshire's eminent domain law.

Pennichuck rejected Nashua's offer of $121 million in December 2003. It sued the city in 2004 to try to block the acquisition and appealed to the high court after losing the case in Hillsborough County Superior Court.

Company attorney Thomas Donovan argued in September that the law allows cities to have a "free test drive" at seizing a public utility with no financial downside if the municipality decides not to acquire the company in the future. But David Connell, attorney for the city, said New Hampshire law grants cities unique powers to acquire a public utility if it is in the public interest.

The company also had argued that the city waited too long to file its petition with the Public Utilities Commission to seize the company. It also argued that its shareholders had already lost significant value because the city's bid ended up ending a proposal from Philadelphia Suburban Corp. to take over the utility.

The PUC is scheduled to decide the case in a trial that would begin in January 2007.

[Kat Kanning]

Maybe we should combine our londonderry rally with something about this?

[Kat Kanning]

two Libertarian Party members are on trial in OH for outrageous charges and malicious use of computers...  See http://lp.org/article_236.shtml  This will make your blood boil.

Wow, that's incredible.  Shows you the state of Free Speech in America.

[Dreepa]

Maybe we should combine our londonderry rally with something about this?

Yeah... it would be sweet if we could get lots and lots of people involved.
The more different groups the more people.  Then the more people we can recruit to NHFREE!

[freedombabe]

IT'S BAAAAAAACK!

http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2005/11/16/state_supreme_court_says_nashua_can_take_over_water_utility
State Supreme Court says Nashua can proceed with utility takeover
November 16, 2005

CONCORD, N.H. --The state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the city of Nashua can proceed with its attempt to take over a water utility under New Hampshire's eminent domain law.

Pennichuck rejected Nashua's offer of $121 million in December 2003. It sued the city in 2004 to try to block the acquisition and appealed to the high court after losing the case in Hillsborough County Superior Court.

Company attorney Thomas Donovan argued in September that the law allows cities to have a "free test drive" at seizing a public utility with no financial downside if the municipality decides not to acquire the company in the future. But David Connell, attorney for the city, said New Hampshire law grants cities unique powers to acquire a public utility if it is in the public interest.

The company also had argued that the city waited too long to file its petition with the Public Utilities Commission to seize the company. It also argued that its shareholders had already lost significant value because the city's bid ended up ending a proposal from Philadelphia Suburban Corp. to take over the utility.

The PUC is scheduled to decide the case in a trial that would begin in January 2007.

Heard that this whole thing was started when Pennichuck tried to sell the company to a French company that was rumored to wanting to bottle and sell the water internationally.  Concern was that international owners would no longer give a s*** about the local water consumer.  Is that still a concern? ???

[KBCraig]

http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=PUC+raps+city+ownership+of+Pennichuck&articleId=fa782e58-532a-4987-af4e-80b6c3b92606

PUC raps city ownership of Pennichuck

By NICHOLAS COATES
Union Leader Correspondent

Nashua ? The city?s attempts to take over Pennichuck Water Works is not in the public?s best interest, according to more than 70 pages of testimony released yesterday from Public Utilities Commission staff.

The city and Pennichuck have spent the last two years involved in litigation before the PUC, with both sides having spent millions of dollars.

?The PUC staff testimony goes to the very heart of the city?s case,? said outgoing Pennichuck President and CEO Donald Correll in a written statement. ?There is absolutely no way to justify continued spending on the takeover by the city. This testimony only serves to solidify Pennichuck?s case.?

Barbara Pressly, a former Nashua state senator who has been an advocate for municipalization, discounted Correll?s comments yesterday.

?I feel more strongly today that municipal ownership of water is absolutely in the best interests of the public,? said Pressly. ?The information Pennichuck has put out there against the city is completely riddled with false accusations and inaccuracies.?

Alderman-at-large Fred Teeboom has also spoken out against the PUC and its operating procedures.

?The PUC is not our friend,? Teeboom said in a telephone interview last month. ?We need to find a win-win situation outside of the PUC process.?

When news of the PUC?s testimony came out yesterday, Ward 2 Alderman Richard LaRose said it was ?obviously a little disappointing, but it?s a little early to make any decisions about what the board (of aldermen) will do next.?

Ward 1 Alderman Mark Cookson said Aldermanic President David Rootovich anticipated the PUC testimony would be available Thursday and called a meeting of aldermen to discuss strategy with the city?s consultants, attorney Robert Upton and engineer George Sansoucy. Both Upton and Sansoucy did not return telephone calls and the meeting went into executive (non-public) session last night at City Hall.

Both Cookson and LaRose said they were unsure whether the board would continue to pursue the eminent domain process in spite of the PUC?s testimony.

Testimony was offered by three PUC staff members. They are: Randall Knepper, director of the Safety Division; Amanda Noonan, director of the Consumer Affairs Division; and Mark Naylor, director of the Gas & Water Division.

Naylor said yesterday that the testimony does not indicate which way the PUC will rule, if it gets to that point, starting in January 2007.

?We looked at the issues and this is our view,? said Naylor. ?This is just another piece of evidence. The next step will be for both parties to submit data requests on April 27 and we?ll go from there.?

Pennichuck officials celebrated the news, saying it was a serious blow to the city?s takeover effort because ?recommendations of the PUC?s staff are weighed heavily by the Commission,? according to a written statement issued by the company.

[tracysaboe]

Is Pennichuck Corp a local government owned energy company? or a private company granted monopoly privlidges by the local government?

Or is it a completely free market entity?

It's so hard to tell who the good guys and bad guys are sometimes 

TRacy

[KBCraig]

Tracy, I don't know the answers to your questions, but it seems like they're fairly free market. They're certainly more free market than the Nashua city government taking over!

Here's a piece from the Monday, 4/17 Union Leader:

http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=No+way%2c+Nashua%3a+Nix+Pennichuck+taking+now&articleId=17366a78-9677-4680-aacb-954865eba717

No way, Nashua: Nix Pennichuck taking now

NASHUA has argued for years that it wants to take over Pennichuck Water Works to improve service, better manage the local watershed, and keep the water company under local control. Last week all of the city's arguments were blown out of the water.

On Thursday the professional staff of the state Public Utilities Commission (PUC) unanimously testified before the commission that Nashua's takeover of Pennichuck would not be in the public interest. On customer service, prices, water management, safety and every other issue, the staff testified that the public would be better off if control of the local water works remained in Pennichuck's experienced hands.

Nashua has long claimed that Pennichuck has mismanaged the local watershed. "Staff has reviewed this record, and has not come across any objective evidence" of that claim, Mark Naylor, director of the PUC's Gas and Water Division, said.

Nashua said its takeover was necessary to guarantee that water works management remained local. Naylor testified that the PUC has the authority to guarantee local control even if a utility is taken over by an out-of-state company. In fact, the PUC did just that when Aquarion Water bought Hampton Water Works five years ago.

Nashua said it would improve customer service. But Amanda Noonan, director of consumer affairs for the PUC testified that customer service would be severely degraded if Nashua were allowed to take control of the water works. Pennichuck has nine full-time customer service reps; Nashua proposes keeping four. Naylor testified that Nashua's proposal for contracting out the Water Works' management was filled with potential customer service problems.

Randall Knepper, director of the PUC's safety division, even testified that Nashua's takeover could compromise public safety.

Staff also concluded that non-Nashua customers would suffer if the taking went through and that Pennichuck's shareholders would be financially harmed.

The testimony was unanimous and conclusive that Nashua's taking of Pennichuck is "not in the public interest." That ought to end this ridiculous fight once and for all. Nashua's claims were absurdly trumped up. The PUC should rule against its taking at the first possible opportunity and let Pennichuck get back to concentrating on providing its customers with good water service.

[Russell Kanning]

Hmmm let's see ..... the city wants to just take something ..... can that possibly be good?

[tracysaboe]

Nashua said it would improve customer service.

Tracy