by Matthew Holloway | Mar 12, 2026 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
The Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) voted unanimously to repeal the state’s Renewable Energy Standard and Tariff (REST) rules during its March 4 open meeting, ending a regulatory framework that has governed renewable energy requirements for nearly two decades.
The REST rules, first adopted by the commission in 2006, required regulated electric utilities to obtain a specified portion of their retail electricity sales from renewable resources. The standard began at 1.25 percent in 2006 and increased incrementally until reaching 15 percent after 2024, with a portion of the requirement reserved for distributed resources such as rooftop solar.
According to the commission, the repeal finalizes a rulemaking process that began in January 2024 under the commission’s rulemaking docket RE-00000A-24-0026.
ACC Chairman Nick Myers joined the other commissioners in the unanimous 5-0 vote. In a statement following the decision, Myers said the mandates were no longer aligned with current conditions in Arizona’s electricity market.
Commission officials said the REST framework achieved its original goal of expanding renewable energy generation in Arizona. The state’s major regulated utilities, Arizona Public Service (APS), Tucson Electric Power (TEP), and UNS Electric (UNSE), have met or exceeded the renewable energy targets established under the rules.
Myers added, “The reality is that the renewable energy landscape in Arizona has changed dramatically in the past 20 years.”
Since the program began, the utilities have collected more than $2.3 billion in REST surcharges from customers to fund renewable programs and incentives, according to the commission. More than $779 million of that amount was distributed as incentives for renewable energy programs approved by the ACC. According to the commission, that amount does not include “above-market amounts paid out to rooftop solar customers under net metering and the current RCP approach.”
Commissioners also cited long-term power contracts entered into under the mandate as contributing to costs borne by ratepayers. One example highlighted by the commission involves a 30-year solar power agreement between APS and the Solana Generating Station, under which APS customers have paid approximately $274.3 million above market prices for power to date.
“The Solana plant is basically providing energy at 15 cents a kilowatt-hour when the rest of solar these days are around 2 to 2 1/2 cents a kilowatt-hour,” Myers said during the meeting.
Under the REST rules, utilities were required to obtain at least 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2025, with 30 percent of that renewable requirement coming from distributed sources such as rooftop solar.
Myers said utilities will continue to procure energy resources through competitive procurement processes designed to identify cost-effective and reliable power generation options.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes released a statement in September and sent a letter to the commission opposing the repeal. During her tenure on the commission from 2003-2010, Mayes, then holding office as a Republican, participated in the adoption of the REST Rules and Arizona’s Electric Energy Efficiency Standard Rules (EEES Rules).
The Arizona Corporation Commission regulates the state’s investor-owned utilities and has authority over energy policy decisions such as renewable energy standards and utility rate structures.
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 AZ Free Enterprise Club | Jul 16, 2025 | Opinion
By the Arizona Free Enterprise Club |
Attorney General Kris Mayes has long fancied herself as a champion for ratepayers. After another round of rate hikes rolled in at the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC), this time a proposed 14% increase by both APS and TEP, AG Mayes fired off a press release announcing that she will “vigorously oppose” these requests as “Arizona residents struggle to keep up with ever-increasing electricity bills.”
Setting aside the fact that the AG has little purview over ACC affairs, Mayes seems to think that her own time serving on the Commission back in the 2000s makes her uniquely qualified to stop what seems like an endless barrage of double-digit rate hikes by our public utilities. Unfortunately for ratepayers, having Kris Mayes involved will only pour fuel on the Net Zero fire currently raging at the Corporation Commission.
You see, Kris Mayes is the one that laid the foundation for the Green Scam rate hikes Arizonans are suffering through today. In fact, the biggest irony about having Kris Mayes jump into the rate hike fray is that it highlights the dangerous parallels between the Commission she served on in 2006 and the one that we have today…
>>> CONTINUE READING >>>
by Corinne Murdock | Feb 9, 2024 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
A vote by the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) earlier this week moved to limit energy companies’ push to meet Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) goals.
The ACC voted 4-1 on Tuesday to draft rules to repeal existing rules and mandates for renewable energy as well as electric and gas energy efficiency: the Renewable Energy Standard and Tariff (REST) Rules and the Energy Efficiency Standards (EE), also known as the Demand Side Management (DSM). Per the commission, the rules and mandates for REST and EE/DSM resulted in incentives for renewable energy projects and services, since utilities were required to file proposals describing REST compliance.
Commissioner Ana Tovar was the sole “no” vote on the motions. The standards behind EE/DSM expired in 2020, but previous commissions didn’t repeal the rule.
The commission noted in Wednesday and Thursday press releases that the rules, tracing back to 2006 for REST and 2010 for EE/DSM, have cost customers nearly $3.4 billion through corresponding surcharges. REST surcharges have cost ratepayers nearly $2.3 billion, while EE/DSM surcharges cost nearly $1.1 billion.
Commissioner Nick Myers said in Wednesday’s press release that the rules and mandates were unnecessary and would result in a drastic cost increase to consumers.
“I believe it is time for the Commission to consider repealing these rules and mandates that appear to unnecessarily drive-up costs,” said Myers. “Utilities should select the most cost-effective energy mix to provide reliable and affordable service, without being constrained by government-imposed mandates that make it more expensive for their customers.”
In Thursday’s press release, Chairman Jim O’Connor — who filed the motion to repeal REST — said that the commissioners from nearly 20 years ago were “well-intentioned” in their vision for reducing the state’s carbon footprint through the REST rules, but that no cost controls were ever implemented, at the detriment of ratepayers.
“In 2006 when the REST rules supplanted the EPS rule, concerns by the dissenting Commissioner cited the lack of cost control measure that would negatively impact ratepayers, and the then-Chairman Hatch-Miller intended that the Commission review annually whether it was in the best interest of the ratepayers. Those reviews never occurred and costs were never considered,” said O’Connor.
O’Connor further remarked that contracts in pursuit of environmental mandates ultimately burdened the ratepayers.
“We began the steps needed to repeal a rule that has cost ratepayers billions of dollars in out of market priced contracts,” said O’Connor. “Mandates distort market signals and are not protective of ratepayers.”
Commissioner Kevin Thompson — who filed the motion to repeal EE/DSM — stated in the press release that the repeal marked a victory for ratepayers, and the end of “feel-good programs” that lack affordability and reliability.
“Arizona utilities have collected over a billion dollars in ratepayer surcharges for efficiency initiatives that have done little to avoid the need for new generation and have benefitted a select few,” said Thompson. “Energy efficiency programs are routinely pushed by vocal special interest groups where the economic benefits favor a small group of customers, and the large majority of ratepayers foot the bill.”
Prior to the ACC acting on the draft rules, the commission will open up multiple public comment opportunities. The draft rules and intake for public comment will be located on the following ACC dockets: gas utility energy efficiency, electric utility energy efficiency, and renewable energy.
The entire rulemaking process will take over a year, according to commission staff. The REST and EE/DSM repeal are part of a greater, five-year review of existing ACC rule packages.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
