In a state that just set a record high temperature of 117 degrees Fahrenheit, those in charge of overseeing utility rates and energy practices have sent Arizona residents back in time, increasing their reliance on fossil fuels as monthly power bills rise and utility providers benefit.
“Every summer for the last 10 years or so, we have been breaking records in Arizona,” said Vianey Olivarría, executive director of Chispa AZ, a program through the League of Conservation Voters that engages Latino communities to fight for environmental justice in Arizona. “So they also break records in profit, right?”
Arizonans are paying more to cool their homes than ever before, but the commission that determines fair rates for those utilities isn’t widely understood by residents. On top of that, the Arizona Corporation Commission voted to repeal key energy efficiency rules earlier this year. Now they’re considering a 14% rate hike for APS (Arizona Public Service) customers, as well as automatic rate hikes for the next five years.
“They’re using a lot of excuses to reason out the rate hike because it’s getting hotter. There’s more demand because there’s data centers,” Olivarría said. “Well, all this demand could be addressed if we invested, also, in clean energy.”
The commission deciding rates
The commission’s five members each serve four-year terms. The current makeup is all Republicans. In November, Arizonans can vote for two commission seats, potentially changing the makeup from a board of five Republicans to one including two Democrats.
With a name like Arizona Corporation Commission, Olivarría said it’s no wonder residents don’t equate the ACC with their utility bills. Yet the commission has a utilities division that acts as the regulatory body for the state’s power, gas, and phone lines— plus drinking water and wastewater.
Decisions are also being made that delay the state’s adoption of clean energy practices and increase utility rates.
“This is a pattern that we see now from a commission that is elected to represent people, and they keep putting the dangers of corporations like APS over the interests of the community they’re supposed to be representing,” Olivarría said.
Groups such as Chispa Arizona want to educate voters who may not realize they get to elect their commissioners. Unlike other states, these positions are not appointed by the governor. The commission’s five members each serve four-year terms. The current makeup is all Republicans.
Voting against clean energy mandates
In March, the ACC voted to repeal its Renewable Energy Standard and Tariff rule (REST), saying the 2006 benchmarks were aimed at lowering energy bills by pivoting to clean energy. But 20 years have passed, and the ACC said the surcharges each utility collected from paying customers to meet those rules actually increased utility bills. They also said that the state’s major utility providers—APS, Tucson Electric Power, and UNS Electric–had succeeded in meeting the requirements for procuring 15% of their power from renewable energy sources.
The Sierra Club, a national environmental organization that promotes clean energy, predicted that the decision to end REST would end up increasing utility rates as the state turned away from more affordable energy sources such as wind and solar.
Then, in July, the ACC repealed its Electric Energy Efficiency Standards, calling them outdated and blaming the increase in utility bills on the same cost-shifting behavior by utility companies who had to meet the standards. Clean energy advocates view the decision as reneging on promises that would have benefitted the average resident and the planet.
“APS has walked back all the commitments to clean energy that they made in 2020. Around that time, they came out with these strong commitments towards clean energy and how they care so much about the community,” Olivarría said. “But this year, they were like, ‘Never mind, we’re not gonna do that anymore.’”
New rate hikes on the horizon
Now, new rate hikes could be coming for customers of Arizona Public Service, or APS. The ACC voted to approve a request for a 14% rate hike that’s estimated to add at least $20 to each customer’s monthly bill. The increased rate request reflects increases in energy costs and necessary improvements to the grid’s reliability and maintenance, APS said.
The ACC completed an evidentiary hearing for the rate hike in July, but has not yet voted on whether to approve it. That decision should come by the end of the year—just in time for the new rates to take effect in 2027.
In the context of the vote repealing energy standards, Olivarría said the potential rate hike is an example of the ACC voting in favor of utility companies at the expense of residents when a clear solution for affordable, clean energy exists.
“The reality is that they could demand APS to do better in mitigating the costs to ratepayers by investing in clean energy. But there’s nothing that holds APS accountable right now to clean energy standards because the clean energy standards, in fact, have been taken down,” Olivarría said. “Now they get to say they need this more money to be able to mitigate all this demand for a crisis they are creating.”
At the same time, the APS asked for an increase in its grid access charge, a fee that solar customers with rooftop panels have to pay each month. If approved, the monthly fee would double from $3 to $6.
“We do see it as a penalty that causes people who install solar to pay more on their utility bill than someone who uses the exact same amount of energy but doesn’t have rooftop solar,” said Kate Bowman, Senior Regulatory Director with Vote Solar.
Vote Solar, a national nonprofit promoting clean energy, points out that this discriminatory charge is coming at a time when summer heat is increasing utility bills, making things more expensive for the state’s 200,000 solar customers seeking to take control of their own energy production to save money.
“We see (solar) as a really important tool, both to help families improve their resiliency and reduce their utility bill, but also because distributed solar can produce energy that benefits the grid as a whole,” Bowman added.
Vote Solar originally appealed the introduction of the grid access charge in 2025 after it was first approved by the ACC in 2024, and the Arizona Court of Appeals agreed it was unfair in June of this year. It’s with that decision in play that the ACC will consider whether to approve APS’s request to double it.
What advocacy groups are doing
In the lead-up to the election, advocacy groups are encouraging voters to learn about the issues and consider their pocketbooks.
“There’s a reason why elections happen, and that is to hold people accountable when they’re not doing their job,” Olivarría said. “And right now, this corporation commission is not doing their job. Their job is to regulate utilities, and they refuse to do that. So it is our job to hold them accountable.”
That sense of accountability, Olivarría said, is rooted in what everyday Arizonans are up against.
“We deserve to have a city where we’re not choosing between paying rent and paying utilities,” Olivarría said. “We deserve to be in Phoenix, Tucson, Yuma—anywhere—and not have to think about what may happen if you cannot pay your bill.”
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