Arizona regulators could scuttle utility energy-efficiency standards
November 17, 2014 | By
Doug Peeples
Arizona has one the toughest sets of standards for utility energy-efficiency programs in the country. But the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) has proposed eliminating at least a portion of the requirements, specifically the mandate that utilities realize 22 percent in energy savings for their customers by 2020. The proposal to repeal the Energy Efficiency Standards (EES) is certain to fuel considerable debate among those who say the energy-efficiency requirement has been extremely successful in keeping customer energy costs down and those who say it is too aggressive. Outgoing Commissioner Gary Pierce proposed eliminating the requirement that Arizona Public Service and other utilities that serve the state have been required to comply with since it was passed by a bipartisan commission in 2010. "The 22 percent we use by 2020 is aggressive, it was always aggressive. Utilities told us that when we adopted it...22 percent is either too high or too low. It's not exactly right. It's a forecast," Pierce was quoted as saying by KJZZ, a National Public Radio station. Pierce criticized the program as "too subjective" and said he wants to standardize evaluation of utility energy efficiency. He recommended that energy-efficiency goals be assessed and established every two years. On the other side of the debate, former Commissioner Renz Jennings contended that eliminating the current requirement would be playing into utilities' hands. He said there is no reason to believe the standards are not accomplishing what they were intended to and that getting rid of them would be "a mistake." It should be noted that the composition of the ACC changed during the recent elections. Tom Forese and Doug Little, Republicans, defeated Democratic incumbents Sandra Kennedy and Jim Holway. That outcome has raised questions of its own, primarily revolving around dark money spending alleged to benefit Forese and Little. The Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP), an organization advocating for energy efficiency in the southwestern states, also questioned the proposal to do away with the standards. "Why change a requirement that has been so productive? The EES has saved utility customers $540 million on utility bills collectively in just the first three years since the Standards went into effect," said SWEEP Arizona representative Jeff Schlegel. "These goals have stimulated a robust industry that helps Arizonans upgrade their businesses and homes through a variety of cost-effective programs." For more: © 2014 FierceMarkets, a division of Questex Media Group LLC. All rights reserved. |