The Arizona Corporation Commission addressed 24 items related to water, telecommunications, electric, and railroad issues during its open meeting held on March 4. The agenda included significant decisions on securities enforcement, utility rate adjustments, and energy policy changes.
The meeting’s outcomes are important for consumers and investors across the state as they affect rates for essential services and regulatory approaches to renewable energy. Several actions involved investor restitution in securities cases, approval of major power plant conversions, and changes to wastewater service areas.
In securities matters, the Commission approved ending a court case against Densco Investment Corporation after recovering nearly $19.7 million for defrauded investors. The original complaint was filed in 2016 following violations of the Arizona Securities Act by Densco. In another case, Ryan Morgan and All Done Consulting were ordered to pay over $4 million in restitution and $510,000 in penalties for selling unregistered investment contracts. Dean Douglas Odle and MCM AF Assets LLC were also fined $10,000 for offering unregistered securities through advertisements seeking investments in surplus funds from foreclosure auctions.
On utilities, the Commission unanimously approved converting two units at Tucson Electric Power’s Springerville coal plant to natural gas by early 2030. A similar conversion was approved for Salt River Project’s Coronado coal plant at an estimated cost of $1.1 billion through 2045—less than building a new facility or using long-duration batteries.
EPCOR Water Arizona received approval to extend its wastewater service area by more than 535 acres near Loop 303 to support commercial development. For Picacho Water and Picacho Sewer Companies serving Robson Ranch community residents south of Casa Grande, the Commission set new rates resulting in a combined monthly increase of $71.58 per residential customer with average usage. Chairman Nick Myers said: “In this case, the Commission took significant steps to reduce ratepayer impact. It set the return on equity at 9.65%, rather than the company’s requested 10.8%. It also considerably reduced the rate expense request. Though I personally would prefer not to approve rates increase, we have a constitutional duty as Commissioners to set just and reasonable rates.”
Additionally, commissioners voted unanimously to repeal the Renewable Energy Standard and Tariff (REST) Rules adopted in 2006 after collecting more than $2.3 billion from customers over two decades for renewable mandates that are now considered outdated due to changes in Arizona’s energy landscape. Commissioner Kevin Thompson said: “There is no disputing that Arizona’s current renewable portfolio is one of the most robust in the country and has the potential to thrive for the foreseeable future…the time has come for the renewable mandate and the customer surcharges that have cost ratepayers billions of dollars to end.”
These decisions reflect ongoing shifts in how Arizona regulates utilities and enforces investor protections while responding to evolving market conditions.
