The Arizona Corporation Commission

Seal of the Arizona Corporation Commission 1912 Ditat Deus

They set your electric rates, vote for three this November!

The Arizona Corporation Commission is on the ballot!

This November, there are three vacancies on the Commission, giving voters the opportunity to place a majority on the five-member commission with candidates who will place peoples’ interests ahead of utility profits in setting rates.

What does the Arizona Corporation Commission do? Why should I care?

The Commission impacts all our lives. It sets the rates we pay for private utilities for our gas and electricity, and for some customers’ water, too.

The commission also sets standards for utilities to meet regarding renewable, clean energy, and energy efficiency for decades into the future. However, some utility companies in Arizona like SRP are not regulated by the Commission.

What is the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC)?

The ACC was created in 1912 within the Arizona Constitution and is responsible for “establishing just and reasonable rates and charges by public service corporations” including investor-owned utilities that provide public services. The ACC is charged with “making reasonable rules, regulations, and orders, by which such corporations shall be governed in the transaction of business within the state....”

How does the commission work? Regulated companies petition the ACC to approve rate increases for their products. The ACC can accept, reject or modify proposed rates by balancing a "fair rate of return” (profit) for the utilities against the needs of ratepayers to come up with just and reasonable rates.

What does this “fair rate of return” really mean?

Utility rates have two parts: a set amount of profit (rate of return) set by the ACC which the utility cannot exceed and reimbursement for the utility’s “prudent” approved operating expenses.

Ratepayers are required to pay this profit that is based on property the utility owns, now set at about 10%. So the more property they own (like power plants, transmission lines, etc.), the greater the utilities’ profit. And this profit is added to what monopolistic utilities spend on reasonable operating expenses that ratepayers simply reimburse. The ACC sets the profit rate and decides which expenses are reasonable. That’s how your utility rates are determined. Only the ACC has the power to lower proposed rates.

This November, vote for your interests – your pocketbook, your health, and Arizona’s future. Check on the ACC candidates’ positions on things you care about. And be sure to VOTE FOR THREE CANDIDATES FOR THE ACC!

2024 Arizona Corporation Commission Candidates

The Arizona Corporation Commission Could Lower Out Electric Rates Through Renewable Energy, This NOVEMBER, Vote for Three.

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