Arizona State Senator Paul Boyer (Legislative District 20 in Glendale and North Phoenix) argued why the legislature (himself included) should not have the final say on Arizona's energy mix in an opinion piece for the AZ Central that ran on November 17th.
Sen. Boyer detailed how a legislative proposal that he opposed this year would have "caused a massive upheaval in the regulation of the state's energy policy and thus every single Arizonan's electric bill."
Sen. Boyer noted that the Arizona Corporation Commission has the Constitutional authority, the expertise, the staff, and the time to set complex statewide energy policies, which the part-time legislature is not equipped to handle.
There are several reasons why the Corporation Commission has been the only state authority to ever exercise this power and should continue to do so.
Commissioners have the experience and expertise to make thoughtful decisions on these issues in a way we in the Legislature simply could never match – because of our part-time nature and the breadth of issues before us. The Arizona Corporation Commission has a year-round staff of energy experts while the Legislature has part-time legislators and a staff that’s not designed to guide us on such questions.
Further, the commission collects evidence and holds evidentiary hearings in front of administrative law judges who gather facts and detailed evidence. The Legislature is not designed to engage in such intense fact finding on these important questions.
In fact, in its latest attempt to rewrite the laws guiding our current energy mix, the Corporation Commission has engaged in a series of hearings and workshops over several years where they have solicited reports and expert opinions from all sources. The Legislature simply does not work in such a way to replicate this type of detailed examination.
Sen. Boyer concluded that short-sighted energy policy could have lasting consequences.
Here’s why all of this matters.
Arizona residents who have lived here for even a few months know energy costs are a substantial part of any family’s budget – especially in the hot summer months of Phoenix or the cold winters of northern Arizona when monthly electric bills can soar as high as $400 or more. Getting the proper balance of energy grid reliability and cost is critical.
We continue to be one of the fastest-growing states in the nation and our energy sector has played a significant role in this ongoing economic recovery.
Arizona has already attracted major investments by large manufacturers, data centers and other new industries. All of this represents higher paying jobs and millions of new tax dollars for neighborhood schools and communities. None of this would be possible without stable, sound energy policies.
Further, our energy-friendly policies, access to natural resources and reliable grid all allow Arizona to not only meet existing demand but to generate surplus electricity. We sell more than 25% of the electricity generated here to consumers outside of Arizona.
This stability has helped us avoid the blackouts seen in California and Texas, giving Arizona a significant advantage in attracting investment from across the country. To upend decades of energy policy with a new regulator and new rules necessitates thoughtfulness – not diving in headfirst without knowing where we’re going.
The effects of short-sighted policy can have devastating, unintended consequences for the Arizonans who can afford it least. They simply want to know the lights will turn on and that they can afford it each month.
If the Arizona Legislature is going to take over energy policy, we should at the very least know what we’re getting ourselves into.