BEFORE THE WASHINGTON UTILITIES AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION

In the Matter of the Application  )
for Sale and Transfer of Assets, ) DOCKET UW-010117
from Atlas Development Corporation   )
Dba Sunshine Acres Water System  )
to  ) ORDER GRANTING APPLICATION
Washington Water Service Company ) FOR SALE AND TRANSFER OF
       ) ASSETS AND GRANTING LESS 
       ) THAN STATUTORY NOTICE 
       ) FOR TARIFF ADOPTION
  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .     )

BACKGROUND

On January 29, 2001, Atlas Development Corporation Dba Sunshine Acres Water 
System, (Sunshine Acres Water) and Washington Water Service Company filed an 
application, in Docket UW-010117 for approval to transfer water system assets 
of Sunshine Acres Water to Washington Water Service Company.  The water systems 
include Sunshine Acres (260 customers), Rondelay Meadows (20 customers), and 
Lee (67 customers).  Sunshine Acres Water is currently regulated by this 
Commission and serves approximately 347 residential customers near Sequim in 
Clallam and Jefferson counties.

Washington Water Service Company is a Washington corporation formed to act as a 
utility company.  Washington Water Service Company, located in Seattle, 
currently owns two operating districts in Washington with approximately 15,000 
customers. 

The benefits of this acquisition of water system assets include expanded 
financial resources, in-house engineering, and water quality staff to provide 
all aspects of water system repair and operations.  The transfer appears to be 
consistent with the public interest.  Washington Water Service Company, through 
its Harbor District SMA, has operated the water systems since January 2000.  
Customers were notified of the sale and transfer along with their December 
billings.  Current rate base is calculated to be approximately $299,239.  
Prospective buyers will acquire all assets of Sunshine Acres Water for 
$417,000, payable at closing. 

As a result of this sale and transfer of water system assets, Washington Water 
Service Company will maintain Sunshine Acres Water rates currently in effect 
and will be adopting the tariff of Sunshine Acres Water.  

The proposed tariff adoption bears an effective date of February 28, 2001.  
This date recognizes statutory notice as required.  The company requests, 
however, that statutory notice be waived and that the tariff adoption become 
effective February 15, 2001.  Washington Water Service Company is requesting 
LSN treatment of this joint application to coincide with company billing 
periods and to allow an early mutually agreed closing date.  Washington Water 
Service Company also requests that, for accounting purposes, the bookkeeping 
records should be considered to be transferred and effective January 1, 2001.

This Commission neither approves nor disapproves the reasonableness of any 
fees, charges, rates, purchase price, or accounting allocations involved with 
the proposed arrangement and reserves the right to review those fees, charges, 
rates, or accounting allocations in a future rate proceeding.

This matter was brought before the Commission at its regularly scheduled open 
meeting on February 14, 2001.  The Commissioners, having been fully advised in 
the matter, and having determined the following order to be consistent with the 
public interest, directed the Secretary to enter this order and related 
provisions.

FINDINGS

THE COMMISSION FINDS:

1. Atlas Development Corporation Dba Sunshine Acres Water System, a Washington 
utility-, and Washington Water Service Company, -a Washington utility-, are 
public service companies subject to the jurisdiction of this Commission under 
the provisions of chapter 80.12 RCW.

2. As to form, the application herein, meets the require-ments of chapter 80.12 
RCW and the rules and regulations of the Commission adopted pursuant thereto.

3. The sale and transfer of water system assets by Atlas Development 
Corporation Dba Sunshine Acres Water System, to Washington Water Service 
Company is reason-able and consistent with the public interest and should 
therefore be approved.

4. The requested waiver of statutory notice in connection with the tariff 
adoption filed herein by Washington Water Service Company, January 29, 2001, 
should be granted, and this transfer application should become effective 
February 15, 2001, and for accounting purposes the bookkeeping records should 
be considered to be transferred and effective January 1, 2001.

 O R D E R

THE COMMISSION ORDERS:

1. After the effective date of this order and subject to the provisions herein, 
Atlas Development Corporation Dba Sunshine Acres Water System, is autho-rized 
to sell water system assets to Washington Water Service Company under the terms 
and conditions of the proposed agreement filed as an exhibit in the joint 
application.

2. No material change, revision, or amendment to the joint application and 
agreement shall become effective without the Commission's prior written 
approval.

3. The tariff adoption filed in conjunction with the transfers, allowing 
Washington Water Service Company to continue pre-transfer rates without change, 
is approved on less than statutory notice to become effective with the effect 
of the transfer itself on February 15, 2001.  Washington Water Service Company 
must file with the Commission within 60 days after the effective date of this 
order, the journal entries by which it proposes to record on its books the 
transfer of water system assets authorized herein.  The effective date of the 
transfer of the bookkeeping records for accounting purposes shall be January 1, 
2001.

4. The reasonableness of any fees, charges, rates, purchase price, or 
accounting allocations involved in carrying out the provisions of ordering 
paragraph No. 1 of this Order are neither approved nor disapproved in this 
proceeding.

5. This order shall in no way affect the authority of this Commission over 
rates, services, accounts, evaluations, estimates, or determination of cost or 
any matters whatsoever that may come before it, nor shall anything herein be 
construed as an acquiescence in any estimate or determination of cost or any 
valuation of property claimed or asserted.

DATED at Olympia, Washington, and effective this 14th day of February, 2001.

WASHINGTON UTILITIES AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION




CAROLE J. WASHBURN
Secretary