For Immediate Release | 6-12-19

Contact | Holly Ward

Direct | 602-542-3847

E-Mail | hward@azcc.gov

PHOENIX — Arizona Corporation Commission Commissioner Lea Márquez Peterson voted in favor of gradualism and consumer protection on Tuesday, proposing and passing an amendment that reduced emergency surcharges for customers of a small water company in Eastern Arizona.

Lord Arizona Water Systems, Inc. provides water to approximately 382 customers near Vernon, Arizona, which is approximately 19 miles east of Show Low. The company sought Commissioner approval Tuesday for an emergency surcharge to pay for system repairs and employee salaries.

The Arizona Corporation Commission voted unanimously to pass Márquez Peterson's amendment, which lowered the amount of a recommended emergency surcharge from $16.14 per customer per month to $10.76 per customer per month, saving customers over 33 percent on the amount of the recommended increase.

Without Márquez Peterson's amendment, average residential customers would have seen an increase to monthly bills of as much as 54 percent, while the 2016 median household income for customers in the area is less than $35,000.

"This is a low-income community," said Márquez Peterson. "The amount was too high and would have caused extreme rate shock for the customers. My amendment was to prevent this by reducing the overall increase and spreading it out over a longer period."

Commissioner Lea Márquez Peterson worked with her fellow commissioners to get the amendment passed and reached across the aisle with Commissioner Sandra Kennedy to find a middle-ground. Márquez Peterson had proposed a reduction of $8.07 per month over 24 months but accepted Sandra Kennedy's request for a $5.38 reduction over 18 months because it helped ensure the amendment would pass.

Márquez Peterson also worked with the administrative law judge who oversaw evidentiary proceedings for the case to ensure the water company would be made whole for repairs it made to its water system. "I want to thank the Commission's Hearing Division for helping me prepare such a thoughtful solution so early in my time at the Commission."

The amendment was Márquez Peterson's first at the Commission since Governor Doug Ducey appointed Márquez Peterson to fill former Commissioner Andy Tobin's seat on May 30, 2019. The amendment reflects a top priority for Márquez Peterson, which is to merge her support of small businesses with her emphasis on consumer protection.

"As former President of the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, I believe small businesses, such as Lord Arizona Water Services, should be able to recover their reasonable costs when they demonstrate good management practices and make proactive investments their customers can afford," said Márquez Peterson.

"The Arizona Corporation Commission is about determining what is 'just and reasonable.' I thank my fellow commissioners for welcoming me to the Commission and hope to bring a different perspective on what is just and reasonable by viewing cases through the eyes of the consumer while balancing the needs of the utility that allow them to provide safe and reliable service."

A link to Commissioner Lea Márquez Peterson's proposed amendment can be found here: https://docket.images.azcc.gov/0000198540.pdf.

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About Commissioner Lea Márquez Peterson, MBA, IOM:

Commissioner Lea Márquez Peterson was appointed to the Arizona Corporation Commission by Governor Doug Ducey in May of 2019. She is the first Latina to serve in a statewide seat in the state of Arizona.

Lea has been an entrepreneur in our community for many years and served as the President/ CEO of the Tucson Hispanic Chamber from 2009 until November of 2018. The Tucson Hispanic Chamber serves the business community in the bilingual, bi-cultural region of the Arizona-Sonora border and was recognized as the Hispanic Chamber of the Year in 2013 by the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. The chamber represents over 1800-member businesses and in partnership with the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry is one of the largest chambers in the State of Arizona.

She ran for Congress in Arizona Congressional District 2 in 2018 and won a competitive primary race though lost the general election. She previously served as the Executive Director for Greater Tucson Leadership (GTL) from 2005 to 2009 and owned and operated a Business Brokerage Firm from 2005 to 2009 and a chain of six gasoline stations / convenience stores with 50 employees from 1998 to 2005 in the Tucson region.

Lea has been appointed to serve on the Arizona Judicial Council which advises the Arizona Supreme Court and the Arizona Finance Authority, the state's bonding authority. She chairs the Board of Directors of Carondelet's St Mary's and St Joseph's Hospitals in Tucson and is the former Chair of the Pima Association of Governments' Economic Vitality Committee. She serves on the Boards of the University of Arizona Foundation and the Pima County Workforce Investment Board and is the President of the National Association of Women Business Owners in Tucson. She also serves on the national board for the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.