TWW thanks Arizona State Senator Paul Boyer (SD-20) for listening to the concerns of Arizona’s business community and announcing opposition to legislation that would upend the authority of the Arizona Corporation Commission.
“Boyer raised reliability and other issues involving the possible change in oversight. He pointed to failures in Texas during the recent freeze and said similar problems could happen in Arizona if power pricing were the only concern the commission could evaluate. He said lawsuits over a change were also possible.
He asked if the Legislature is “the appropriate venue to govern energy policy, given that we’re not year-round and we do not have staff devoted solely to energy policy,” Boyer said.”
The Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, the Arizona Technology Council and Arizona Public Service (APS) are all opposed to the legislation as well. The bills would create an uncertain regulatory climate for businesses by attempting to take away the ACC’s constitutional authority to set energy policy.
Creating this uncertainty while the state comes back from the COVID-19 induced economic slow-down risks needed economic development opportunities and crucial jobs.