SIB and the Chaparral Water System

From replacing old meters to repairing and replacing old service lines that leak and break, disrupting your service and wasting water, read on to find out how we're working to improve your service.

SIB, or System Improvement Benefit, is a multi-year program focused on "routine" infrastructure improvement work, like replacing old meters and valves and repairing and replacing old service lines that leak and break, causing service outages and wasted water lost to leaks.

How it works

Your rates are set through a long and thorough review of the costs to provide your water service, called a "rate case." As part of a rate case, the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) reviews and approves a SIB plan for specific things that need to be done to keep the distribution system running the way it should.

Not only is SIB limited to specific areas of the distribution system, the amount of money that can be spent is capped by the ACC – if more than what the ACC approved needs to be spent, EPCOR has to wait until a future rate case is reviewed and decided on by the ACC to recover that additional money that needed to be spent.

At the end of each year of SIB-program work, a report showing what was done and how much it cost is filed with the ACC. Once the ACC reviews and approves the report, a SIB surcharge will start to appear on your monthly bill. Right below it you'll see a SIB credit – because SIB helps your water distribution system run better, you'll get 5% of your total SIB surcharge back as a credit.

SIB and what it means to you

Chaparral's SIB program – a five-year investment of $8.9 million in four categories: meters, valves, hydrants and service lines – was approved in June 2014 when the ACC approved the most recent rates for water service. Here are some of the improvements – more than $1.6 million – we made to your water system in just the first year:

• 1,631 meters, among the oldest in the Chaparral district, replaced.
• 291 aging service lines replaced, reducing water leaks and improving water pressure and flow.
• 65 old and faulty valves replaced, reducing disruption to water service and water loss during main breaks.
• 25 fire hydrants replaced to improve fire flow and response times in case of emergencies.

The first year of SIB work ended June 20, 2015 and the ACC is now reviewing EPCOR's report. If approved, here's what the SIB surcharges and credits will be for the first year of the program:

Read the customer notice