19354 2/18/25 PUBLIC NOTICE OF HEARING ON THE APPLICATIONS

19354 2/18/25 PUBLIC NOTICE OF HEARING ON THE APPLICATIONS OF BENSCH RANCH UTILITIES, LLC, PINE MEADOWS UTILITIES, LLC AND VERDE SANTA FE WASTEWATER COMPANY, INC. FOR THE SETTING OF RATES AND CHARGES FOR WASTEWATER UTILITY SERVICE DOCKET NOS. SW-04026A-24-0275; SW-03962A-24-0276; AND SW-03437A-24-0277 (CONSOLIDATED) Summary On December 27, 2024, Bensch Ranch Utilities, LLC (“Bensch Ranch”), Pine Meadows Utilities, LLC (“PMU”), and Verde Santa Fe Wastewater Company, Inc. (“VSF”) (collectively, “Applicants”) filed applications with the Arizona Corporation Commission (“Commission”), in Docket Nos. SW-04026A-24-0275, SW-03962A-24-0276, and SW-03437A-24-0277, requesting adjustments to their rates and charges for wastewater utility service. The three dockets have been consolidated for the purpose of hearing. Bensch Ranch’s Rate Request (Docket No. SW-04026A-24-0275) In its rate application, Bensch Ranch proposes rates both on a stand-alone basis and consolidated with PMU and VSF. On a stand-alone basis, Bensch Ranch requests authorization to increase its wastewater rates to generate total revenues of $84,183. This would constitute an increase in revenues of $50,448, or approximately 149.54 percent, over adjusted test year revenues of $33,735, resulting in a 10.50 percent rate of return on Bensch Ranch’s proposed fair value rate base of $257,078. If Bensch Ranch’s request is granted as proposed, on a stand-alone basis, the monthly bill for a residential customer would be $199.25, a $119.45 or 149.69 percent increase to the present monthly bill of $79.80. In addition, Bensch Ranch requests approval of a rate case expense surcharge and has calculated the proposed surcharge to be $19.29 per customer per month for three years on a stand-alone basis. With the rate case expense surcharge, a residential customer would pay $218.54, a $138.74 or 173.86 percent increase to the current monthly bill. If Bensch Ranch’s rates are consolidated with PMU’s and VSF’s, Bensch Ranch’s residential customers would see a monthly decrease of $19.90, or 24.94 percent, from $79.80 to $59.90. In addition, the proposed rate case expense surcharge, on a consolidated basis, would be $3.03 per customer per month. As a result of consolidation, with the rate case expense surcharge, residential customers would pay $62.93 monthly, a $16.87 or 21.15 percent decrease compared to the present monthly bill of $79.80. PMU’s Rate Request (Docket No. SW-03962A-24-0276) In its rate application, PMU proposes rates both on a stand-alone basis and consolidated with Bensch Ranch and VSF. On a stand-alone basis, PMU requests authorization to increase its wastewater rates to generate total revenues of $112,178. This would constitute an increase in revenues of $6,947, or 6.60 percent, over adjusted test year revenues of $105,231, resulting in a 10.50 percent rate of return on PMU’s proposed fair value rate base of $125,946. If PMU’s request is granted as proposed, on a stand-alone basis, the monthly bill for a residential customer would be $76.50, a $4.76 or 6.64 percent increase to the present monthly bill of $71.74. In addition, PMU requests approval of a rate case expense surcharge and has calculated the proposed surcharge to be $5.84 per customer per month for three years on a stand-alone basis. With the rate case expense surcharge, a residential customer would pay $82.34, a $10.60 or 14.78 percent increase to the current monthly bill. If PMU’s rates are consolidated with Bensch Ranch’s and VSF’s, PMU’s residential customers would see a monthly decrease of $11.84, or 16.50 percent, from $71.74 to $59.90. With a proposed rate case expense surcharge of $3.03 per customer per month, residential customers would pay $62.93, a $8.81 or 12.28 percent decrease. VSF’s Rate Request (Docket No. SW-03437A-24-0277) In its rate application, VSF proposes rates both on a stand-alone basis and consolidated with Bensch Ranch and PMU. On a stand-alone basis, VSF requests authorization to increase its wastewater rates to generate total revenues of $662,992. This would constitute an increase in revenues of $132,969, or 25.09 percent, over adjusted test year revenues of $530,023, resulting in a 10.50 percent rate of return on VSF’s proposed fair value rate base of $543,172. If VSF’s request is granted as proposed, on a stand-alone basis, the monthly bill for a residential customer would be $54.15, a $10.91 or 25.23 percent increase to the present monthly bill of $43.24. In addition, VSF requests approval of a rate case expense surcharge and has calculated the proposed surcharge to be $2.10 per customer per month for three years on a stand-alone basis. With the rate case expense surcharge, a residential customer would pay $56.25, a $13.01 or 30.09 percent increase to the current monthly bill. If VSF’s rates are consolidated with Bensch Ranch’s and PMU’s, VSF residential customers would see a monthly increase of $16.66, or 38.53 percent, from $43.24 to $59.90. With a proposed rate case expense surcharge of $3.03 per customer per month, a residential customer would pay $62.93, a $19.69 or 45.53 percent increase to the current monthly bill. The Commission’s Utilities Division (“Staff”) is in the process of reviewing and analyzing the Applications and has not yet made recommendations regarding Applicants’ requests. THE COMMISSION IS NOT BOUND BY THE PROPOSALS OF APPLICANTS, STAFF, OR ANY INTERVENORS. THE COMMISSION WILL DETERMINE THE APPROPRIATE RELIEF TO BE GRANTED IN RESPONSE TO THE APPLICANTS RATE APPLICATIONS BASED ON THE EVIDENCE PRESENTED IN THIS MATTER. THE FINAL RATES APPROVED BY THE COMMISSION MAY BE HIGHER, LOWER, OR DIFFERENT THAN THE RATES PROPOSED BY APPLICANTS OR BY OTHER PARTIES. Contact Information A customer with questions concerning how the applications may affect his or her bill or other substantive questions may contact Applicants at toll free no. 888-519-4719; Email: info@jwwater.net. How You Can View or Obtain a Copy of the Application Copies of the Application are available from Applicants on the Internet via their websites, www.jwwater.net/bensch (Bensch Ranch); www.jwwater.net/pine-meadows (PMU); and www.jwwater.net/vsf (VSF); at the Commission’s Docket Control Center at 1200 West Washington Street, Phoenix, Arizona, and 400 West Congress Street, Suite 218, Tucson, Arizona, during regular business hours; and on the Commission’s website (www.azcc.gov ) using the e-Docket function. Arizona Corporation Commission Public Hearing Information The Commission will hold a hearing on the consolidated dockets beginning September 15, 2025, at 10:00 a.m., and continuing as needed on September 16, 18, and 19, 2025 at 9:00 a.m., at the Commission’s offices, 1200 W. Washington Street, Phoenix, Arizona, 85007. Public comments will be taken at the beginning of the first day of hearing and may be provided in person or telephonically. To provide telephonic public comments, call 1-877-309-3457 and enter this code: 801972877##, by 10:00 a.m. on the date of the hearing. Written public comments may be submitted by mailing a letter referencing Docket Nos. SW- 04026A-24-0275, SW-03962A-24-0276, and SW-03437A-24-0277 to Arizona Corporation Commission, Consumer Services Section, 1200 West Washington, Phoenix, AZ 85007, or by submitting comments on the Commission’s website (www.azcc.gov ) using “Meetings & Cases” and “Make a Public Comment in a Docket.” If you require assistance, you may contact the Consumer Services Section at 602-542-4251 or 1-800-222-7000. If you do not intervene in this proceeding, you will receive no further notice of the proceedings in this docket unless you sign up to Follow the Docket. However, all documents filed in this docket are available online (usually within 24 hours after docketing) at the Commission’s website (www.azcc.gov ) using the e-Docket function. Information on how to Follow a Docket is available on the Commission’s website using “Divisions” and then clicking on “Hearing” and “Follow a Docket or Document Type.” About Intervention The law provides for an open public hearing at which, under appropriate circumstances, interested persons may intervene. An interested person may be granted intervention if the outcome of the case will directly and substantially impact the person, and the person’s intervention will not unduly broaden the issues in the case. Intervention, among other things, entitles a party to present sworn evidence at hearing and to cross-examine other parties’ witnesses. Intervention is not required for you to appear at the hearing and provide public comment, to file written comments in the record of the case, or to receive emailed notice of each filing made in the case by following the docket. Information about what intervention means, including an explanation of the rights and responsibilities of an intervenor, is available on the Commission’s website (www.azcc.gov ) by clicking on “Divisions” and then clicking on “Hearing” then “Intervene in a Case.” The information includes a Sample Intervention Request and a Fillable Intervention Request Form. To request intervention, you must file a written request to intervene, either (a) by filing a hard copy request (meeting filing requirements) with Docket Control (Docket Control, 1200 West Washington, Phoenix, AZ 85007), or (b) by eFiling the request. Your request must be filed or eFiled no later than May 1, 2025. Instructions and restrictions for eFiling are available on the Commission’s website at http://azcc.gov/hearing/efile-for-utilities-instruction . You also must serve a copy of the request to intervene on each party of record, on the same day that you file the request to intervene with the Commission. Your request to intervene must contain the information below: 1. Your name, address, and telephone number; 2. The docket number for the case in which you are requesting to intervene; 3. A short statement explaining: a. Your interest in the proceeding (e.g., a customer of the regulated company involved, a property owner in an area to be affected by the case, etc.), b. How you will be directly and substantially affected by the outcome of the case, and c. Why your intervention will not unduly broaden the issues in the case; 4. If a hearing has not been scheduled, whether and why you believe a hearing is needed; 5. A statement certifying that you have sent a copy of your request to intervene to the regulated company or its attorney and to all other parties of record in the case; and 6. If you are not represented by an attorney who is an active member of the Arizona State Bar, and you are not representing yourself as an individual, sufficient information and any appropriate documentation to demonstrate compliance with Arizona Supreme Court Rules 31, 38, 39, and 42, as applicable. This only applies if you are NOT representing yourself and you are not a licensed attorney. The granting of motions to intervene shall be governed by A.A.C. R14-3-105, except that all motions to intervene must be filed on or before May 1, 2025. ADA/Equal Access Information The Commission does not discriminate on the basis of disability in admission to its public meetings. Persons with a disability may request a reasonable accommodation such as a sign language interpreter, as well as request this document in an alternative format, by contacting the ADA Coordinator for the Hearing Division, E-mail HearingDivision@azcc.gov, voice phone number 602-542-4250. Requests should be made as early as possible and no later than 48 hours in advance of the event to allow time to arrange the accommodation.