Official: Arizona can't help customers facing utility rate hike

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(The Center Square) - Arizona Residential Utility Consumer Office Director Cynthia Zwick told The Center Square that, due to limited resources, it would not be able to intervene in a pending rate increase case despite customers' concerns.

In March, Picacho Water & Sewer Co. requested a rate increase for water and sewer utility services to the Arizona Corporation Commission. The company serves residents in Pinal County.

JW Water Holdings, which owns PWSC, stated the rate increase the company is seeking would raise prices from $33 to $67.83 per month, representing a 106% increase.

JW Water Holdings bought PWSC in November 2024. CVC DIF, a Netherlands-based firm, owns JW Water Holdings.

In a statement to The Center Square, Zwick said the state agency has reviewed the rate increases PWSC seeks, but it can’t intervene because it has to “focus on cases that serve the greatest number of Arizonans (those with more than 12,000 customers).”

“RUCO staff are working around the clock to advocate on behalf of ratepayers in seven currently pending rate cases that impact more than two million customers,” Zwick said.

She added RUCO has been in contact with “several customers served by Picacho Water and Sewer for months answering questions about the rate case process and listening to their concerns.”

Last week, state Reps. Teresa Martinez and Chris Lopez, both R-Casa Grande, sent a letter to Zwick after residents in their district requested assistance regarding upcoming rate increases from PWSC. The letter was also signed by Senate President Pro Tem T.J. Shope, a Republican from the same district.

According to the state House press release, the constituents who complained about the rate increases thought they were excessive and unfair. The residents said RUCO was slow to respond and did not intervene, the press release noted.

Martinez and Lopez requested RUCO to answer questions regarding its general practices.  

They also asked for information on how the state agency internally handled these complaints. 

Martinez said the consumer office “exists to stand up for utility consumers” rather than “ignore them.”

“Our constituents are understandably frustrated,” she added. ”They’re facing steep hikes from a foreign-owned utility, and when they turned to the Governor’s office for help, they got silence and a refusal. They deserve better.”

Lopez said they are “press[ing] for answers” so these residents can get “accountability.”

“Ratepayers shouldn’t be left in the dark when they turn to the very office meant to advocate for them,” he noted.

According to JW Water, the new rates are supposed to take effect around March 1, 2026.