by Daniel Stefanski | Jan 10, 2025 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
The Arizona Corporation Commission is now entirely under Republican leadership.
On Monday, Lea Márquez Peterson, Rachel Walden, and Rene Lopez were sworn into office at the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC), giving Republicans control of all five positions on the state agency. Peterson returned to office, while Walden and Lopez entered this position for the first time.
During the inaugural meeting of the new year, first-term Commissioner Kevin Thompson was voted as chairman of the ACC. Nick Myers became (what appears to be) the first-ever vice chair of the ACC.
In an exclusive comment to AZ Free News, Thompson said, “During our campaign, Commissioner Myers and I often spoke on the trail about our objectives once elected. We expected it to take our full four-year term, but instead we accomplished our goals within the first two years of office.”
Thompson added, “Looking forward to serving as Chairman, I’m confident we will be able to build upon our recent successes with this talented and motivated group of Commissioners. As Chair, my focus is going to be on ensuring our collective efforts are always pushing Arizona forward, making the Commission more efficient and responsive to the public, and never losing sight of our duties to ratepayers and the trust voters have placed in us.”
Peterson posted to her X account about her first day of this new term of office, saying, “I am honored to serving a second term at the Arizona Corporation Commission! Thank you to Chief Justice Timmer for conducting my oath of office. I’m looking forward to serving with Nick Myers, Kevin Thompson, Rachel Walden, and Rene Lopez!
Nick Myers said, “As best we can tell, the Arizona Corporation Commission has never had a Vice-Chairman position. Today we made history… Again. After I nominated Commissioner Kevin Thompson as the new chairman, he nominated me as the very first Vice-Chairman!”
Rachel Walden wrote, “It’s official! Thank you to the Commission staff for organizing today’s swearing in ceremony and agenda. Thank you to my friends and family for attending! And a massive thank you, Arizona! It’s an honor to go to work for you.”
All five commissioners are excited about their upcoming work at the ACC over the next two years – even in a divided state government with a Democrat as Governor and Republicans maintaining control of the Arizona Legislature. In his remarks following his unanimous election as chairman of the ACC, Thompson said, “I want to continue to support this Agency and build upon a culture of success and further ensure the Commission is a place the brightest and best want to work. Where we can all be excited to step foot in this building and be proud of what we do to ensure Arizona remains a great place for our children and grandchildren and businesses for decades to come.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Matthew Holloway | Dec 7, 2024 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
The Arizona Free Enterprise Club released a statement on Wednesday severely criticizing the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC). The statement came after the ACC, which is charged with protecting Arizonans from a non-competitive energy industry, voted to abdicate its duty by allowing formulaic rates that increase automatically year over year, as opposed to every increase being subject to public scrutiny and requiring approval.
The vote on Tuesday was carried 3-2 with commissioners Anna Tovar and Lea Márquez Peterson dissenting. According to the ACC, its policy statement “allows regulated utilities to propose formula rates in future rate cases. Under this approach, the ACC reviews and accepts as the rate a formula for calculating the utility’s cost of service, including clear definitions of inputs to that formula and a process for updating rates every year as the utility’s costs change.”
The commission claimed, “Formula rates will still be monitored closely to ensure that the utility does not over-earn relative to the cost of service for providing service (plus a reasonable return on invested capital), while continuing to provide service safely and reliably.”
The Arizona Free Enterprise Club responded in a statement saying:
“Following contentious double digit rate hikes being approved and ESG Resource Plans committed to going ‘Net Zero’ by 2050 being rubber stamped, the Commission has rushed through approving new rules masquerading as a mere ‘policy statement’ that could insulate utilities and the Commission from having to face ratepayers in future rate cases. The ‘policy statement’ would depart from traditional rate making and pursue ‘formula based rates’ offloading risk from investors to ratepayers and baking in automatic rate increases with little transparency or opportunity for ratepayer engagement.
“The only support for this ‘policy statement’ came from the utilities themselves. The Commission is charged to protect ratepayers by regulating the utilities, not the other way around. The Commission should pump the brakes, not rush through major rulemaking decisions in a lame duck session.
“The Arizona Free Enterprise Club is committed to protecting ratepayers, ensuring affordable and reliable energy in Arizona. We will continue to work to ensure utilities will not be able to force their captive ratepayers to foot the bill, especially through automatic rate hikes, for their costly goal to go ‘Net Zero’ by 2050 by shuttering reliable sources of energy generation to build out expensive and unreliable wind, solar, and battery storage projects.”
Attorney Dan Pozesfsky of Arizona’s Residential Utility Consumer Office (RUCO), expressed a similar view according to 12News saying, “Trying to implement formula rates through a policy statement rather than through rules is inappropriate, illegal and in this case denies due process.”
The outlet reported that the ACC, ignoring its own plans for the vote, rushed to schedule it noting that in a previous meeting Commission Chairman Jim O’Connor had told stakeholders, “Give us feedback. Bring us guardrails.” He added, “I eagerly look forward to that kind of input at our next workshop.” However, no workshop occurred and no published legal opinions were issued.
Diane Brown of the nonprofit Arizona PIRG Education Fund stressed that the vote was conducted with critical questions about the scheme remaining unanswered. She said, “This is precisely to me why it was so important to have the legal memo that this Commission said they would get. While there are statements that there will be increased transparency, I’m not seeing evidence of that. It is troubling to me that we haven’t heard from the ALJ (administrative law judge). We have not heard from Staff.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Daniel Stefanski | Nov 18, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Arizona’s Corporation Commission will be completely governed by Republicans after the party experienced a clean sweep of three contests during November’s General Election.
Republicans emerged victorious over their Democrat opponents for three Corporation Commissioner spots on the ballot. Those individuals were newcomers Rachel Walden and Rene Lopez, and incumbent Lea Márquez Peterson, finishing in that order. Márquez Peterson received 100,000 more votes than the fourth-place candidate.
After winning the election, Walden released a statement, saying, “It is a great honor to be elected to the Arizona Corporation Commission. Thank you. To all of the volunteers who knocked on doors, made calls on my behalf, and put up signs. I am so grateful for all of the grassroots efforts. But I am especially grateful for the hundreds of thousands of votes. Thank you for trusting me to serve on the Arizona Corporation Commission. I look forward to serving you to make sure our utilities are affordable and reliable.”
Lopez wrote, “Thank you to everyone for your vote and to: Jessica, Brianna, Andrew & family for your sacrifices in supporting me on this journey. All the PCs, LDs, clubs, Rep Women’s clubs for the opportunities, your work and support. Rachel and Lea for the year long grind. We did it!”
Márquez Peterson said, “Thank you to every campaign volunteer and supporter across the state. I’m honored to continue to serve at the Arizona Corporation Commission for a second term!”
In an exclusive statement to AZ Free News about the coup for Republicans, current Commissioner Kevin Thompson, said, “Despite liberal activist groups spending millions of dollars this cycle to defeat Republican Commission candidates, Arizona voters demonstrated they want Commissioners who will ignore activist politics and prioritize reliability and affordability for ratepayers.”
Thompson added, “The current Commission has focused on the long term reliability of our grid and doing what is best for Arizona, not the activists who want to turn us into another California at the expense of ratepayers. I’m confident the incoming Commission will build upon that work and make sure Arizona remains successful and affordable for the foreseeable future.”
Despite Democrats winning the major statewide offices in 2022 (Governor, Attorney General, and Secretary of State), Republican majority control of this Commission has been a bright spot for those attempting to keep leftwing policies from taking root and blossoming in Arizona. According to its website, the ACC works to ensure “safe, reliable, and affordable utility services,” and Republicans have been instrumental in directing policies to do just that for the state. Without a single Democrat on the panel going forward, starting in January, Republicans will have even more of an opportunity to enact their vision for Arizona utilities and other areas within their jurisdiction on the Commission.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Sep 22, 2024 | Economy, News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Many Arizona energy consumers are about to see some savings in their bills in time for the holidays.
This month, the Southwest Gas Corporation sent a notice to the Arizona Corporation Commission about a rate decrease to consumers effective at the start of October.
The statement from Doran A. Miller, a Regulator Manager, said, “Pursuant to Decision Nos 74595 and 79038, Southwest Gas is providing notice that the Gas Cost Balancing Account rate will decrease from $0.30911 per therm to $0.00 per therm effective October 1, 2024. This results in a decrease of approximately $7 per month for the average single-family residential customer.”
In an exclusive comment to AZ Free News, Republican Commissioner Kevin Thompson responded to the notice from Southwest Gas, saying, “Any significant savings for the ratepayer should be welcomed, particularly in this economy. The cost of natural gas fuel is required to be passed along to ratepayers as a monthly surcharge that the Commission regularly reviews to make sure customers are paying the actual cost. This helps ensure utilities don’t over collect or earn a profit on this necessary resource.”
Thompson added, “As volatility in domestic and international markets have subsided, and the cost of natural gas dramatically decreases, most Southwest Gas customers will see a noticeable decrease in their monthly gas bill beginning in October.”
Earlier this year, the Corporation Commission shared a report from WalletHub, which showed that Arizona had the second-lowest energy cost out of the 50 states in the North American union with a $400 bill.
According to the Corporation Commission, there were a handful of factors separating Arizona from other states:
- “Diverse generation sources – Arizona relies on a mix of generation sources, from nuclear, natural gas, hydropower, renewables, and battery storage.
- “Self-Sufficiency – Arizona is not dependent on imported power. We tap into the market if needed, but our utilities’ focus is providing Integrated Resource Plans to guarantee future readiness. The Commission diligently oversees upgrades and construction.
- “Proactive maintenance to ensure reliability – The Commission prioritizes daily maintenance and line work leading up to the summer to ensure the grid is ready for the extreme heat and high load.”
Republican Commissioner Lea Marquez Peterson reacted to the report from WalletHub, writing, “The data released in the report reflects the priorities of our Commission – reliable energy at the most affordable rates. I’m proud of the service and affordable rates we work hard to provide to ratepayers throughout the state.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Aug 12, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Arizonans are using a lot of energy throughout this hot summer in the Valley of the Sun.
Last week, the Arizona Corporation Commission issued a press release to alert readers that Arizona electric utilities had “set new records for peak energy demand.”
According to the communication from the state government agency, the record for peak energy was reached on Sunday, August 4, between 5-6pm, when the high temperature for that day was 116 degrees Fahrenheit.
Republican Corporation Commissioner Kevin Thompson told AZ Free News, “Our utilities have done an exceptional job of keeping the lights on and air flowing through new record setting peak demand this summer. There’s no coincidence to the fact that despite our extreme heat and load growth, Arizona hasn’t suffered the same crippling energy pitfalls of California. Arizona regulators have focused on an ‘all of the above’ generation approach bolstered with dispatchable baseload to keep our grid reliable and affordable. This Commission has worked relentlessly to do away with energy mandates that cost ratepayers more money and get in the way of what utilities should be primarily focused on: generating electricity.”
“Our utilities continue to deliver reliable power in the face of excessive temperatures and ever-increasing electricity demand. Arizona continues to be ranked in the top ten of states with the most reliable power—a critical statistic for which each of us is thankful during these record-breaking temperatures,” said Chairman Jim O’Connor.
Arizona Public Service (APS) used 8,212 MW on August 4 (compared to 8,162 MW on that date in 2023). Salt River Project used 8,219 MW in 2024 (compared to 8,163 MW in 2023). And TEP / UNS just barely missed out on the record, finishing with 2,917 MW on July 8 (compared to 2,969 MW in 2023). On August 4, TEP’s peak demand reached 2,661 MW.
“Our utilities are facing unprecedented challenges in balancing the needs of our energy demands during this hot summer while ensuring energy reliability at the most affordable rates,” said Commissioner Lea Márquez Peterson. “Their summer preparedness planning for peak demand is vitally important to keeping our families safe and cool in the summer.”
The Commission shared that these utilities have made assurances “that they are prepared to produce a combined total of more than 23,000 megawatts of electricity to meet customers’ daily summer demands.” APS has 1.3 million customers; SRP, 1.1 million customers; and TEP / UNS, 719,000 customers.
At the end of its release, the Commission “encourages Arizonans to be mindful and help reduce electric demand during peak hours. Actions, such as lowering energy use during peak hours and signing up for demand response programs can contribute to reducing overall customer demand and reducing monthly electric bills.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
