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.  

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.

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.

Full restructuring of electricity markets in Arizona offers the best antidote for the outdated monopoly model.

The Arizona Corporation Commission voted to require electric companies to give those who fall behind up to four months after Oct. 15 to repay their outstanding balance. But it bars the utilities from charging interest or late fees.

Undoubtedly, natural gas and renewables are gaining prominence in Arizona and the nation. But it makes sense to keep all options on the table. In Arizona, coal and nuclear power have proven reliable for decades. They should continue to be part of an all-of-the-above energy mix alongside natural gas and solar for years to come.

Electricity is among the most political of commodities, and everyone has her favored form of power, with a constellation of advocates to promote it. Too often, wishful thinking masquerades as fact and political sloganeering substitutes for intellectually rigorous policy analysis. Utility regulators have a challenging set of responsibilities as they sift among the claims of these competing interests.

Billionaire Democratic mega-donor Tom Steyer criticized the state’s largest electric company and the biggest competitor of his clean energy ballot initiative Friday for using shady tactics to block a public vote of the renewable energy measure in November.

The Arizona Capitol Times team didn't know how to say no to a "Hamilton" tribute, and "licenses schmicenses" was a real topic of conversation.

States that generate large amounts of renewable energy, such as California with its abundant supply of solar power, have to “sell” power to neighboring states at negative prices, meaning California is effectively paying Arizona to take energy from their systems.