Amongst the three witnesses, Consumer Affairs Rothschild’s approach was unique in that he included the use of both historical and forward-looking, market-based data in his analysis. Based on the testimony and facts presented, the Commission therefore adopts the recommended ROE of 7.46% proposed by witness Rothschild. This ROE allows Blue Granite to raise the capital it needs to provide safe and reliable service to its customers.
The Commission finds that analysis and testimony provided by Consumer Affairs witness Rothschild is credible, compelling, unbiased and without prejudice in balancing the interests of the consumer and the utility by allowing the utility the opportunity to earn a 7.46% return on equity. See, Tr. pp. 672.8-672.10.
Consumer Affairs proposed the option and analysis for the ROE of 7.46% with witness Rothschild. We conclude that the weight of the evidence, including witnesses’ testimony and the credibility of Rothschild analysis which demonstrated flawed ROE calculations based upon non-utility business by Blue Granite witness DeStefano, support the 7.46% ROE and OM of 10.54% for Blue Granite as determined
by the Commission.