Dismayed by the combative stance adopted by critics and proponents of electricity deregulation and dissatisfied by answers he’s received so far, a state regulator is mulling a court-style hearing to dig deeper into the pros and cons.

Some Arizonans, especially those in rural areas, face having their water bills dramatically increase when providers need to finance infrastructure improvements.

A senior policy expert at the Goldwater Institute said he has challenged an anti-deregulation critic to a one-on-one debate over a proposal for Arizona to dismantle its monopolistic system of providing electricity to homes and industries.

In this Aug. 2 interview, Mark Schiavoni, APS vice president for operations, argued that Arizona’s regulated model has worked for more than a century and there is no reason to plunge into the unfamiliar waters of competition. APS spokesman Jim McDonald also sat in for the chat with Arizona Capitol Times reporter Luige del Puerto.

Showdown looms over electrical deregulation
For a century, public utilities have produced and delivered electricity to homes and industries in a system that guarantees their profit and ensures steady service to residents.

Now, the Arizona Corporation Commission is considering whether to shake up the monopolies and bring competition to the state.

The Arizona Corporation Commission has asked the public to weigh in on electricity deregulation, which would break up the state’s system of “regulated monopoly” under which a handful of public utility companies are in charge of generating and distributing power to homes and industries.

The Arizona Corporation Commission shouldn't have approved an electric generation project's planned use of power generated by a trash incinerator to qualify as renewable energy, a judge has ruled.

Supporters of Arizona’s solar industry blasted Arizona Public Service’s proposals to change the state’s solar energy incentives as an effort to kill the solar industry.

For months, Arizona’s largest utility provider and the solar industry have waged a public relations war over the future of the state’s solar energy incentives.

That fight now moves to the Arizona Corporation Commission, as the energy regulator formally begins consideration of opposing proposals from each side.

As summer dawns and temperatures rise, the struggle over Arizona’s solar energy policies promises to heat up in coming months.

The state’s largest utility company is preparing to ask government regulators to change the way a key solar energy incentive is structured.