News
Third water company seeks rate increase
By Philip Franchine, Green Valley News
Farmers Water Company, which serves part of Green Valley, wants a 35 percent rate hike and will explain its proposal Wednesday, Nov. 4, in Tucson before the Arizona Corporation Commission.
It’s the third area water company to seek a rate increase this year.
Last week, Corporation Commission staff in a similar hearing recommended that Community Water Co. of Green Valley get a 26 percent increase, but with a stiffer rate hike for homeowners who use more water. Those new rates could go into effect by spring.
Also seeking a rate increase is the Sahuarita Water Co., which serves Rancho Sahuarita. In July, SWC asked the commission for a 63 percent hike for homeowners and a lower increase for commercial customers for an overall 52.5 percent revenue increase.
The Farmers Water utility is owned by Farmers Investment Co., or FICO, and serves 2,240 customers in Sahuarita, Continental, Sahuarita Highlands and Santa Rita Springs, and is seeking an average rate increase of $89 a year, according to documents filed with the ACC.
The original rate request and follow-up documents are available on the ACC web site at https://edocket.azcc.gov/ with the case number 08-0502.
The case will start before an ACC administrative law judge at 10 a.m. today in Room 222 of the state building, 400 W. Congress St., Tucson.
After the hearing, the judge will make a recommendation to the five-member elected commission. The water company, ACC staff and the public each will have an opportunity to comment before the commission votes.
Meanwhile, during an all-day hearing on Oct. 28, ACC staff said they agreed with much of Community Water’s overall revenue request, but wanted a more conservation-oriented rate structure.
The company originally asked for 33 percent overall increase, then reduced it to 26.58 percent, because its electricity expenses were reduced after it received credits for past overpayment to Tucson Electric Power. ACC staff has recommended the water company get a 26.27 percent increase.
Community Water also wants to increase its evening and weekend call-out rate to a $70 minimum from the current $10 rate, arguing that the low rate encourages customers to call the water company to shut off their water when they should call a plumber.
Staff of the ACC questioned that request closely, and CWC President Arturo Gabald—n acknowledged that the utility had not conducted a formal cost study on the matter but simply used the cost of calling a plumber in Green Valley as a rule of thumb.
The hearing was held before ACC Administrative Law Judge Belinda Martin, who asked to have briefs summarizing the positions of both sides by Dec. 8. She is expected to issue a Recommended Order and Opinion in 30 to 45 days and the matter could go before the five-member commission in late January or in February, meaning the new rates would go into effect in March.
The original rate request is on the company’s Web site, www.communitywater.com, and follow-up documents are available on the ACC Web site under E-docket, with the case number 08-0590.
Gabald—n said the major reason for the rate-increase request, in addition to increasing cost of electricity, interest expense, gasoline and retirement contributions, is that the company had to pay to build a large storage facility uphill from customers.
The company now must pay to pump water uphill, but that arrangement will allow it to use a gravity-feed system of supplying water, thus largely solving a past problem of occasional water outages, he said.
Community Water Co. is a member-owned, non-profit water utility serving an average of 2.1 million gallons of water per day to about 18,000 people.
The service area is about eight square miles, roughly between Anamax Road to the north, the Santa Cruz River to the east, Cyprus Sierrita to the west, and Mission Twin Buttes Road to the south.
pfranchine@gvnews.com | 547-9738
It’s the third area water company to seek a rate increase this year.
Last week, Corporation Commission staff in a similar hearing recommended that Community Water Co. of Green Valley get a 26 percent increase, but with a stiffer rate hike for homeowners who use more water. Those new rates could go into effect by spring.
Also seeking a rate increase is the Sahuarita Water Co., which serves Rancho Sahuarita. In July, SWC asked the commission for a 63 percent hike for homeowners and a lower increase for commercial customers for an overall 52.5 percent revenue increase.
The Farmers Water utility is owned by Farmers Investment Co., or FICO, and serves 2,240 customers in Sahuarita, Continental, Sahuarita Highlands and Santa Rita Springs, and is seeking an average rate increase of $89 a year, according to documents filed with the ACC.
The original rate request and follow-up documents are available on the ACC web site at https://edocket.azcc.gov/ with the case number 08-0502.
The case will start before an ACC administrative law judge at 10 a.m. today in Room 222 of the state building, 400 W. Congress St., Tucson.
After the hearing, the judge will make a recommendation to the five-member elected commission. The water company, ACC staff and the public each will have an opportunity to comment before the commission votes.
Meanwhile, during an all-day hearing on Oct. 28, ACC staff said they agreed with much of Community Water’s overall revenue request, but wanted a more conservation-oriented rate structure.
The company originally asked for 33 percent overall increase, then reduced it to 26.58 percent, because its electricity expenses were reduced after it received credits for past overpayment to Tucson Electric Power. ACC staff has recommended the water company get a 26.27 percent increase.
Community Water also wants to increase its evening and weekend call-out rate to a $70 minimum from the current $10 rate, arguing that the low rate encourages customers to call the water company to shut off their water when they should call a plumber.
Staff of the ACC questioned that request closely, and CWC President Arturo Gabald—n acknowledged that the utility had not conducted a formal cost study on the matter but simply used the cost of calling a plumber in Green Valley as a rule of thumb.
The hearing was held before ACC Administrative Law Judge Belinda Martin, who asked to have briefs summarizing the positions of both sides by Dec. 8. She is expected to issue a Recommended Order and Opinion in 30 to 45 days and the matter could go before the five-member commission in late January or in February, meaning the new rates would go into effect in March.
The original rate request is on the company’s Web site, www.communitywater.com, and follow-up documents are available on the ACC Web site under E-docket, with the case number 08-0590.
Gabald—n said the major reason for the rate-increase request, in addition to increasing cost of electricity, interest expense, gasoline and retirement contributions, is that the company had to pay to build a large storage facility uphill from customers.
The company now must pay to pump water uphill, but that arrangement will allow it to use a gravity-feed system of supplying water, thus largely solving a past problem of occasional water outages, he said.
Community Water Co. is a member-owned, non-profit water utility serving an average of 2.1 million gallons of water per day to about 18,000 people.
The service area is about eight square miles, roughly between Anamax Road to the north, the Santa Cruz River to the east, Cyprus Sierrita to the west, and Mission Twin Buttes Road to the south.
pfranchine@gvnews.com | 547-9738
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