by Michael W. Patten Over the past two years, the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) has been considering how to address the rapidly changing electric energy landscape. Through a variety of proceedings, the ACC is reviewing existing energy-related rules, considering (and adopting) policy statements regarding emerging issues and conducting workshops on a variety of energy-related topics. […]
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by Michael W. Patten After a year of development, including workshops and public input, the Arizona Corporation Commission has adopted its first Code of Ethics. The Commission believes that its new Code is the most comprehensive in the country for utility regulatory bodies. As a constitutionally-created branch of Arizona government, the ACC acts in both […]
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by Raymond S. Heyman On January 30, 2018, Commissioner Andy Tobin submitted an expansive Proposed Energy Modernization Plan in Arizona Corporation Commission, Docket No. E-00000Q-16-0289. This docket, the “Review, Modernization and Expansion of the Arizona Renewable Energy Standards and Tariff Rules and Associated Rules” was originally opened in August 2016. Commissioner Tobin’s Plan includes: The […]
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by Michael W. Patten The Arizona Corporation Commission is addressing new policies that could affect a variety of regulated utilities in Arizona in the near future. The policies are intended to provide guidance on issues that are often points of contention in proceedings at the Commission. The Commission has opened three separate dockets and has […]
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by Michael W. Patten On October 7, 2016, the Arizona Corporation Commission’s Hearing Division issued a Recommended Opinion and Order (“ROO”) in the Commission’s Investigation of the Value and Cost of Distributed Generation docket (Docket No. E-00000J-14-0023). The ROO follows an extended evidentiary hearing and post-hearing briefing that took place earlier this year. The ROO proposes […]
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by Timothy J. Sabo The Arizona Supreme Court has affirmed the broad constitutional powers of the Arizona Corporation Commission, in an opinion issued on August 8, 2016. The decision comes in Residential Utility Consumer Office v. Arizona Corporation Commission, a widely-watched case about the scope of the Commission’s power. The case involved a challenge by […]
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by Timothy J. Sabo Water is essential to Arizona. Hundreds of thousands of Arizonans are served by privately-owned water companies regulated by the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC). There are hundreds of these companies. They range widely in size, financial condition, and expertise. Perhaps the hardest job is faced by the smallest utilities, who must provide […]
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by Jason Gellman Recently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Survey showed that $271 billion is needed for the Nation’s Wastewater Infrastructure, including for investor-owned utilities regulated by state public utility commissions.[1] The U.S. EPA is currently conducting a survey for water infrastructure[2] – but water service professionals have been sounding the alarm for years about an […]
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