Arizona Corporation Commission finalizes repeal of energy efficiency standards
The Arizona Corporation Commission voted to repeal its Electric Energy Efficiency Standards on Wednesday, finalizing a process that began in 2025. Regulators adopted the efficiency rules in 2010. The rules directed utilities like Arizona Public Service and Tucson Electric Power to reduce their cumulative energy use by 22% by 2020. To do so, utilities were […]
Arizonans face the nation’s only four-digit summer power bills, topping $1,000
Arizona’s brutal summer is hard enough without the seasonal shock of opening a utility bill. This year, the state is expected to post the country’s highest electricity costs for the hottest months, according to the Phoenix New Times. For many households, staying safe during extreme heat is becoming increasingly unaffordable.
Why APS is asking for a rate increase—and what it could mean for customers
A proposed Arizona Public Service (APS) rate increase has become a hot topic across the state, particularly in rural communities such as ours, where many households already feel the strain of rising costs. APS is seeking approval from the Arizona Corporation Commission for a rate adjustment that would increase residential bills by roughly 14%, or […]
Arizona’s utility watchdog has become the utilities’ guard dog
The Arizona Corporation Commission is supposed to protect customers from monopoly utilities, but a blistering new Arizona Court of Appeals decision shows the opposite happened in a major APS rate case. The commission’s hearing process helped create, defend and preserve a utility-friendly solar charge that APS itself had not requested. That is a troubling sign […]
Lost Jobs, Higher Bills and Dashed Economic Opportunities
Passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022 and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in 2021 created historic pools of funding to accelerate the transition to a more affordable clean energy economy and modernize the nation’s energy and other infrastructure. Combined, the two laws provided more than $2 trillion in funding through grants and low-interest financing, […]
Arizona appeals court overturns extra fee on APS solar customers
In a unanimous ruling, the Arizona Court of Appeals overturned a controversial fee on Arizona Public Service customers who have solar panels on their homes. When the Arizona Corporation Commission approved an APS rate hike in 2024, it also allowed the utility to charge solar customers an extra $2-$3 per month to cover what it […]
How Trump’s $700M investment in coal could impact Mountain West states
President Donald Trump has announced a $700 million investment in coal, and Mountain West states could play a major role. The administration says it aims to keep electricity prices low, while critics say the effort will only increase rates, hurt the environment and put human health at risk. In a June 4 press conference, Trump referred […]
What happens now? The APS rate case isn’t over
On May 18, I stood outside the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) with small business owners, parents, faith leaders, veterans and everyday Arizonans who had one unified message for our state’s utility regulators: Enough. Only a single speaker that day supported Arizona Public Service’s (APS) proposed rate hike, a hike that could raise electricity bills by […]
The race no one understands
You’d be hard-pressed to find a political race with a more clear, direct impact on Arizonans’ finances than the Arizona Corporation Commission — yet most residents don’t seem to have any clue about it. It all starts with the name. “It’s not necessarily very clear what the Corporation Commission does,” Clara Pratte, a Democrat running […]
APS rate case kicks off with hours of protest over 14% rate increase
“No rate hikes! No rate hikes! No rate hikes!” Before packing two Arizona Corporation Commission hearing rooms for nearly four hours of public testimony, local advocacy groups and utility ratepayers gathered outside of the commission’s downtown Phoenix building on May 18 to protest Arizona Public Service’s proposed 14% rate increase. APS is the state’s largest electricity […]
