The city of Claremont has filed a protest in the 2016-2018 Golden State Water General Rate Case, according to a release posted on the city’s website.

As a party in the case, Claremont’s legal counsel attended a pre-hearing conference on September 2 before the Public Utilities Commission in San Francisco. Also attending the pre-hearing conference were representatives from Golden State Water Company and the Office of Ratepayer Advocates.

At the pre-hearing conference, city representatives requested a public participation hearing to be held in Claremont, to which the administrative law judge agreed. The city of Ojai has also requested a public participation hearing and filed a notice of protest in the General Rate Case proceedings, which typically take at least 18 months before a decision is made.

Claremont staff and legal counsel will participate in the rate case proceedings, according to the press release, which states they will represent “Claremont residents, businesses and educational institutions, which depend on Golden State Water for water service.” The city has filed protest letters in the last five rate cases filed by Golden State Water.