What Sun City should know about EPCOR’s current rate proposal

Greg Eisert

Submitted photo/Greg Eisert

This is part one of a two-part series about EPCOR’s proposed water rate hike. Part two, coming Aug. 21, will focus on a new physical connection between the Sun City and Sonoran water systems.

OPINION — EPCOR has filed a major water rate case with the Arizona Corporation Commission. For Sun City residents, the proposal involves more than the size of the next water bill.

Sun City residential customers face a substantial proposed increase. Residents naturally will focus on that number. But another important question is what costs Sun City customers are being asked to pay and why.

Sun City is a mature, essentially built-out community. Other parts of EPCOR’s water system continue to experience substantial residential, commercial and industrial growth requiring new water supplies, wells, pipelines, storage and other infrastructure.

For more than a decade, Sun City District ratepayers have opposed efforts to combine historically separate water districts for rate-setting purposes, including through the courts. A central concern has been that consolidation can shift costs among communities.

That history remains important.

EPCOR now proposes further consolidation of its water districts. Before the commission approves that proposal, the evidence should clearly show how costs would be allocated among the districts and what Sun City customers would receive in return.

Sun City customers should pay the full and fair cost of reliable water service. But if they are being asked to share costs originating elsewhere, residents deserve to know what those costs are, why Sun City should share them and what measurable benefits Sun City receives.

The commission should therefore examine not only the proposed rate increase, but the cost allocation behind it.

The principle is straightforward: those who create costs or receive the primary benefits from an investment should generally bear an appropriate share of those costs.

Sun City residents have fought for years to ensure they pay no more than their fair share. This case should provide the evidence necessary to determine what that fair share actually is.

Greg Eisert has represented Sun City and Youngtown ratepayer interests in  electric, water and wastewater proceedings before the Arizona Corporation Commission since 2012, and has participated in related appeals through the Arizona Supreme Court. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.