The lone incumbent seeking reelection this November to the state’s utility regulatory agency is defending the panel’s decisions to cut programs that encourage use of renewable energy and to eliminate most rebates for energy efficiency purchases. Republican Corporation Commissioner Kevin Thompson said he has nothing against solar, but the technology has not yet come far[...]

Arizona Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes is calling for a statewide pause on new data centers, specifically those aimed at powering artificial intelligence systems, amid rising energy costs and the federal government’s plan to cut 30% of Arizona’s Colorado River supply.

12News investigative journalist Joe Dana discusses why there’s been a surge in peak energy demand over the last several years for the state’s largest utility, Arizona Public Service, and whether the energy costs for data centers behind the surge are being shifted to average ratepayers.

Arizona is using more electricity than ever. Extreme heat is pushing the grid to new records, data centers are adding enormous new demand, and families are already struggling with high summer power bills. This is exactly when Arizona should be getting more serious about using energy wisely. Instead, the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) has moved[...]

As the number of data centers across the U.S. continues to increase, so does public opposition to them. That has some Arizona leaders looking for new standards for what acceptable data center development could look like. That public sentiment against data centers was highlighted at a recent protest in Phoenix, where resident Nile Bunger showed[...]

Residents who want to learn more about a controversial data center and natural gas power plant near Glendale will have the opportunity to do so on Aug. 12. A neighborhood meeting is scheduled for residents to ask questions about Project Eagle, the data-center component of a large development planned near Litchfield Road and Olive Avenue.

Arizona summers are unforgiving. So are rising bills. When temperatures soar, electricity is not a luxury; it is what keeps families safe. Extreme heat traps people indoors, and higher utility rates punish them for trying to stay well. For families, seniors, people living paycheck to paycheck and unemployed workers like me, the electric bill is[...]

The Arizona Corporation Commission this month repealed the state’s energy efficiency standards. They’d been in effect for about 15 years. That followed utility regulators doing away with Arizona’s renewable energy standards. The GOP-controlled commission argued the rules were outdated and costing Arizona residents money. But critics of the move, like Diane Brown, say the opposite[...]

When most Arizonans think about elections, they think about governor, Congress or the Legislature. Few think about the Arizona Corporation Commission. That’s a problem because there is no elected office in Arizona with a more direct impact on your monthly finances than the five commissioners who serve on the ACC. Every month, millions of Arizonans[...]

Arizona Public Service, the state’s largest public electricity provider, is asking the Arizona Corporation Commission for its third rate increase in four years. This one would raise rates 14%, adding up to about $240 more per year for customers, and many of them are not happy about it. No rate hikes! No rate hikes! No[...]