Arizona utilities providers recently revealed plans to partner with an emerging energy market.
Earlier this week, representatives from Arizona Public Service (APS), Salt River Project (SRP), Tucson Electric Power (TEP), and UniSource Energy Services made news by announcing that their utility companies would be joining Southwest Power Pool’s (SPP) Markets+. The partnership would take place starting in 2027 if the fledgling market receives the final green light from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
According to the release issued by the state energy providers, an energy market “is an interconnected network of electricity providers that help meet the supply and demand of power across a specific geography and include transmission pathways for electricity to travel from one location to another.” For example, “When demand is lower, the Arizona utilities can sell energy, like excess solar power during the winter season, to maintain a balanced electric system, while also taking advantage of cost-savings opportunities.”
The Arizona utilities promise “increased reliability, greater cost savings, [and] more clean energy” for state customers after the partnership would take effect. It is projected that this market would save approximately $100 million from the status quo, which would be, in part, realized by the energy customers of the participating companies.
“Arizona is one of the fastest growing states in the country and we are thoughtfully planning for the future and evolving our operations to continue to provide top-tier service and reliability to our customers at an affordable cost,” said Brian Cole, APS Vice President of Resource Management. “Together with our neighboring utilities, APS plans to join Markets+ to efficiently deliver energy and bolster the resilience of our shared energy grid in Arizona and across the region.”
“SRP’s participation in SPP Markets+ is a key component of our plan to meet the growing energy needs of our customers reliably and affordably and will help us achieve our 2035 Sustainability Goals,” said Josh Robertson, SRP Director of Energy Market Strategy. “We look forward to working with utilities in the region to bring the cost and resilience benefits to our respective customers.”
“Tucson Electric Power and UniSource Energy Services are excited about the value that Markets+ can provide to our customers, including cost savings and greater access to clean energy and other resources that support affordable, reliable service,” said Erik Bakken, TEP Senior Vice President. “We look forward to strengthening an already collaborative, productive relationship with Southwest Power Pool, our reliability coordinator, in its new role as market operator.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Another Arizona governing body has intervened in a critical issue in place of the state’s attorney general.
Last week, the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) intervened in a matter at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), protesting BlackRock, Inc.’s Request for Reauthorization and Extension of Blanket Authorizations to own utilities. The Environmental Social Governance (ESG) – related filing was led by a coalition of state attorneys general from around the nation and the ACC.
The coalition requested that FERC decline to approve BlackRock’s application unless the following four conditions are met:
“The Commission must require that Applicants, including all affiliates and subsidiaries, limit their collective ownership to 20% or less of the shares of each FPA-covered utility.
“Applicants must function only as passive investors.
“Applicants must hold the shares subject to their fiduciary duties to their investors, including the duty to act in the sole financial interest of the investors.
“The Commission should require specific reports by Applicants of every instance when the asset managers voted contrary to the recommendation of utility management on a shareholder proposal or board of director nomination, as well as an explanation of how such votes were consistent with the asset manager’s commitments to FERC.”
Freshman Commissioner Kevin Thompson, who pushed hard for the commission to join the legal protest, told AZ Free News, “We need utilities to make decisions based on what makes the most sense for ratepayers and the integrity of our grid, not the policy goals of ESG-minded asset management cartels. This Commission is taking a more proactive role in federal matters that impact Arizona ratepayers and our grid because FERC and other federal agencies have rapidly been exerting their influence in matters that should be left up to state regulators and our utilities.”
Joining the Arizona Corporation Commission on the filing were the States of Utah, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wyoming.
The Corporation Commission’s involvement with this coalition mirrors the Arizona Legislature’s repeated efforts the past two years to join with other state officers in attempts to defend laws and protect the interests of their constituents. Both the Commission and the Legislature have been forced into acting as the state’s defacto attorney general due to Arizona’s top prosecutor, a Democrat, being unwilling to stand against certain infractions or questions of legality for state and federal laws.
The intervention into the ESG-related matter marks another instance of leadership by Arizona Republicans on this issue. The ESG movement has sought to advance an environmental agenda to bring an end to traditional and reliable energy investments across the country and world, and many have challenged the legality of such efforts in various industries. Before the current Democrat administration, the state had a Republican Attorney General Mark Brnovich, who led a handful of early ESG skirmishes. Arizona Treasurer Kimberly Yee has also joined other state financial officers over the years to oppose pro-ESG actions.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
