In early August, the utility company, Arizona Public Service (APS) abandoned their commitment to become carbon neutral by 2050.
They also want to raise rates by 14 percent.
Fast forward to this last week and there are two more developments, spurred on in part by encouragement from science denying MAGA allies in Washington D.C. and their Big Billionaires First Bill, that occurred that threaten Arizonan’s wallets and their sustainability future.
First, Tucson Electric Power (TEP) is requesting to raise utility rates by 14 percent and have asked the Arizona Corporation Commission to do so.
Suffice it to say, that request has not thrilled Tucson Mayor Regina Romero and the City Council who issued the below joint statement, advising they will take steps to try and stop the rate increase.
“Today, at the request of Mayor Romero, our Mayor and Council has voted to formally intervene in the Tucson Electric Power (TEP) rate case requesting electric rate increases of 14%, now under review by the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC).
Tucson ratepayers and businesses are already grappling with higher energy costs, including a 10% Tucson Electric Power rate hike in 2023. Further hikes will strain families and small businesses and slow the transition to clean, affordable energy. According to an analysis by Princeton University, annual energy costs could increase by an average of $165 per household by 2023 and $280 by 2035 due to the “One Big Beautiful Bill” passed by Congress this summer.
Further, Mayor and Council have taken strong action to build climate resilience for Tucson and has significant concerns over TEP’s commitment to meeting Tucson’s climate goals as expressed in Tucson Resilient Together, the City’s climate action and adaptation plan.
By voting to intervene, Mayor and Council are taking a stand for affordability and fairness. We believe that monopoly utilities must not be allowed to exploit customers. Our action sends a clear message: this Mayor and Council will protect our community from unreasonable rate hikes and will work to ensure that energy remains reliable, affordable and aligned with our climate and equity goals.”
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes is irate as well, calling out both TEP and APS for their corporate greed and flexing their monopolistic muscles, signaling in the two below press releases, her office intends to intervene, with Corporation Commission approval, to stop the rate hikes from both utility companies.
“This is blatant corporate greed. TEP’s parent company reported $1.6 billion in net earnings last year. This is a billion-dollar company that wants to increase the average Tucson consumer’s monthly bill by 14% following back-to-back rate hikes over the past five years. It’s time to say ‘enough.’
We’re watching a monopoly utility try to abuse the system. Tucson consumers cannot choose a different electric service provider unless they sell their house and move. We cannot keep letting our monopoly utilities take advantage of ratepayers, who are already facing spiraling electricity bills and a cost-of-living crisis.”
“Arizonans are already feeling squeezed by sky-high electric bills and now APS is trying to jack them up even further. Giving APS another rate increase, after making more than $600 million in net income last year, is outrageous and I will not stand for it. APS has a monopoly and should not be allowed to exploit that monopoly on the backs of Arizona consumers.”
Progress Arizona released the below social media video in support of Attorney General Mayes’s actions.
While TEP and APS are trying to squeeze working and middle class Arizonans, the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC,) while at the same time approving Attorney General Mayes intervention in those utility company’s proposed rate hikes, have started the process to repeal rules, passed in 2010 when Ms. Mayes was a Corporation Commissioner, that have and would continue energy efficiency and savings.
Democratic State Senator Lauren Kuby and Representative Brian Garcia issued a joint press release condemning the move to abandon successful sustainability practices by the ACC.
Senator Kuby wrote:
“This vote to repeal is a slap in the face to Arizonans. Just one month ago, the ACC–the most important office no one’s heard of—announced they are turning its back on ratepayers and gutting their own commitment to use 100 percent clean energy by 2050. Every working family in Arizona has benefited from the adoption of both the renewable-energy and energy-efficiency standards, and this rollback is an alarming move on behalf of the Commission. Our job as elected officials is to protect our constituents and the planet our next generations will inherit—this move does neither.”
Representative Garcia stated:
“At the same time that utilities are pointing to ballooning energy demand as justification for hiking electricity rates and ditching clean energy plans, the ACC would eliminate one of the most effective tools it has to reduce demand and save customers money on their bills. APS just showed us what happens when utilities are left to manage ratepayer-friendly programs without regulatory guardrails: they abandon them in favor of new data centers and at the expense of their customers.”
The actions by APS, TEP, and the ACC would not be happening if they did not get encouragement by science denying-anti clean energy-let us go back to the Gilded Age where tariffs were mainstream and the rich corporations had all the power Trump-Project 2025-MAGA movement.
Arizona Senate Democratic Leader Priya Sundareshan, reacting to Trump’s disastrous address to the United Nations, called out how his Know Nothing viewpoints were harming the country and Americans.
Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego reminded people that Trump’s cancelling of grants like Solar for All to help people pay their utility bills is also harming Arizonans and Americans across the state and country.
It is time for Republicans in Congress to allow consideration of the Ansari/Markey Heating and Cooling Relief Act that will help Arizonans and Americans pay their utility bills and “save lives” during times of extreme weather.
They say they were going to reduce prices on day one.
Time to deliver on their promises.
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Thanks for all the great information in this article. People need to be informed and persuaded to vote for better government. Give power back to leaders like our Arizona Democrats who know the score and will stand up to monopoly greed.