Key Points:

• Arizona Corporation Commission voted 3-2 in favor of the rate hike
• Robson Ranch residents fought against the increase for months
• The new owner of the utilities says the increase was necessary after decades without one

The Arizona Corporation Commission voted to increase water and wastewater utility rates for the Robson Ranch retirement community despite insistent opposition from residents.

Commissioners voted 3-2 to approve a 22% rate increase for water and a 154% increase for wastewater for customers of Picacho Water Company and Picacho Sewer Company, which serve the retirement community near Eloy. All five Republican commissioners voiced their sympathy for the Robson Ranch residents, but only commissioners Kevin Thompson and Lea Marquez Peterson voted against the rate increase.

“We do have a constitutional duty to set rates based on fair value, ratebase, prudent investment, just and reasonable rates and rate of return,” said ACC Chair Nick Myers during a March 4 hearing. “When utilities do not come in for rate cases for over 20 years, especially for smaller utilities, the result is typically very large increases.”

JW Water acquired the Picacho companies and several other small water utilities from Robson Resort Communities in late 2024, backed by a Dutch private equity investment fund called CVC DIF. In early 2025, JW Water filed rate cases for both Picacho Water and Picacho Sewer, noting that neither company had adjusted utility rates since the late 1990s. 

Originally, JW Water proposed a 124% water rate increase and a 188% wastewater increase, arguing that it needed to adjust rates to accurately reflect the cost of serving around 1,900 Picacho customers. The company acknowledged that Robson Resort Communities had been subsidizing the utilities for the last few decades instead of recovering costs through rates.

After backlash from Robson Ranch residents and suggestions from ACC staff, JW Water agreed to compromise in order to “mitigate the rate impact to customers.” During the rate case hearing, both JW Water and commission staff said they believe the compromised rate increase is fair because the average household income in Robson Ranch is around $125,000 and many residents live in the community only part of the year.

Jay Shapiro, an attorney for JW Water, told commissioners no one would walk away from the rate case a winner and accused Robson Ranch residents of engaging in a “well-organized smear campaign” against the company. Thompson admonished JW Water and Shapiro for alienating the Robson Ranch residents.

“Customers are never the enemy of the utility,” Thompson said. “The integrity and trust of the community has to be earned, and right now Mr. Shapiro, your client is off to a bad start.”

Thompson also seemed interested in an amendment that would have allowed the rate increase to be phased-in over a few years, but commission staff noted that a phase-in would only make rates even higher for customers down the road because JW Water would be entitled to recover lost revenue from the phase-in. Shapiro said the company would not be interested in forgoing that lost revenue in order to limit rate shock on customers.

“We’ve seen a lot of dramatic price increases in recent years in a lot of restaurants and businesses we enjoy because of acquisitions. With a restaurant or business, you can choose not to go there and take your wallet elsewhere, but you don’t have a choice to do that with our utilities …” Thompson said. “If I lived in this community, I’d be frustrated, too.”

Though the rate increase is significantly smaller than the increase originally proposed by JW Water, Robson Ranch residents were still incensed by the actions of the utilities’ previous and current owners that led to the March 4 vote. 

“I’m asking the (commission) to create the ‘Most Disgusting Corporation of the Year Award,’” resident Ross Dunphy told commissioners at the hearing. “I’ll be first in line to nominate Robson (Resort Communities) and JW Water.”

Raul Salmon, a Robson Ranch resident, started a task force last year to fight back against the rate increase and told the Arizona Capitol Times after the hearing that he was disappointed in the outcome. 

“(JW Water) came in asking for the moon, knowing that they would get knocked down,” Salmon said. “Anybody that’s done salesmanship 101 knows that.”

Residents have argued the rate increase is more about increasing profits for JW Water and CVC DIF than improving service for ratepayers, especially as JW Water is currently seeking rate increases for several other utilities previously owned by Robson Resort Communities. 

Additionally, an attorney for the residents noted that the Picacho utilities and their infrastructure are relatively well-managed compared to other small water utilities that have not filed rate cases in decades. While those utilities often need large rate increases in order to repair or upgrade failing infrastructure that could endanger residents’ access to water, the Picacho utilities do not need those urgent repairs or upgrades. 

The rate case caught the eye of Eloy Mayor Andrew Sutton, himself a Robson Ranch resident, Pinal County Supervisor Mike Goodman and state Republican Reps. Teresa Martinez and Chris Lopez. All of the officials filed letters urging commissioners not to approve the rate increase. 

Salmon said the community will now refocus its efforts on the next rate case JW Water Plans to file for Picacho Sewer Company at the end of this year to recover costs from building a new wastewater treatment plant.