Cynthia Zwick: An advocate for utility customers
Cynthia Zwick runs the Residential Utility Consumer Office, a state agency that represents utility customers in rate cases at the Arizona Corporation Commission. She sat down with the Arizona Capitol […]
Is Arizona still open for business? Energy policy choices will shape the state’s economic future
Arizona has long prided itself on being a state where businesses can thrive. But lately, we’re seeing more uncertainty about investing here. Kore Power decided earlier this year to cancel […]
APS is playing both sides on securitization bill
House Bill 2679 is being sold as a financing mechanism that is a win-win for utilities and their ratepayers. And yet, there is overwhelming opposition to the bill from both […]
Utility-authored securitization bill is horrible deal for ratepayers and state
Despite record-breaking profits, Arizona’s monopoly utilities — led by APS — are pushing to offload even more costs onto ratepayers with less oversight through a sweeping new bill, HB2679. If […]
No hope for lower utility bills
At this time in Arizona history where monthly utility bills are on par with mortgages and rents and the Arizona monopoly utilities are making increasing record profits off of increasing temperatures, we need help not scorn.
Advancing equitable solar access through federal grantÂ
Last month, Governor Hobbs' new Office of Resiliency took a pivotal step to break down barriers to accessing solar power by applying for $250 million from the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar for All grant. If awarded mid-next year, the funding will enable broader access to solar energy, particularly for those in low-income, rental, and disadvantaged communities.
One ACC commissioner’s baseless assault on rooftop solar
The Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) is set to consider further reducing what the state’s monopoly utilities pay homeowners and businesses with rooftop solar for the energy they send back to the grid—and which the utilities then sell back to customers.
Utilities forced to change after death of woman when power cut off
Stephanie Pullman died on a sweltering Arizona day after her electricity was cut off because of a $51 debt. Five years later, the 72-year-old's story remains at the heart of efforts to prevent others in Arizona from having their power cut off, leaving them without life-saving air conditioning in temperatures that have topped 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius) on every day this month.
Watchdog fights to protect consumers, keeps tabs on utility companies and commission that regulates them
Phoenix resident Abhay Padgaonkar has worked as a fierce consumer advocate, fighting for the rights of those who struggle to pay their utility bills and keeping tabs on utility companies and the commission that regulates them.
We need energy reliability and affordability, not power outages
Americans have been hoping for economic recovery and a return to normalcy. Instead, they’re  experiencing ongoing pandemic concerns and the ravages of wildfires and hurricanes. And adding to their woes, they’re now increasingly worried that the electricity grid on which they depend could fail when they need it most. Â
Electricity grid not ready for EV revolution
California’s rolling blackouts last year, followed by the Texas grid catastrophe in February — and now the threat of blackouts across the Western U.S. this summer — are a wakeup call. We need a grid we can count on. Ensuring we do means properly valuing the dispatchable, reliable generating capacity we already have.
Biden must focus on affordable, reliable electricity
Democratic majorities in the U.S. House and Senate, along with a new Biden administration, promise sweeping policy changes in the United States. This includes campaign pledges to remake America’s electricity mix. But with campaign season over, Democrats should put rhetoric aside and pursue a bipartisan energy plan that supports economic recovery.