The Arizona Corporation Commission on March 12 dropped plans to hold hearings on a proposed change in the formula for calculating the renewable energy
standard and tariff Had the commission held the hearings, it might have then decided to change the calculation of the renewables standards for Arizona Public Service, Tucson Electric and UNS Electric.
Arizona’s renewable energy standard and tariff, REST, requires electric utilities to increase renewable energy use gradually until 2025, when 15 percent of power sales must come from wind, solar and other renewable resources.
Under a proposed change to the REST formula, APS would need to get only 13.3 percent of its power from green energy by 2025, according to the Solar Energy
Industries Association. The standard would have been 11.6 percent for Tucson Electric Power and 12.1 percent for UNS Electric.
The proposed change would have altered REST calculations that call for multiplying the REST percentage for a given year by a utility’s total annual retail sales.
At an ACC meeting in January, Commissioner Gary Pierce suggested utilities first subtract sales for the largest customers, those with 3 MW in demand or higher. Then, the utility would multiply the REST percentage times the reduced power sales figure.
The largest customers would continue to pay the surcharge for renewables programs, but the surcharge would be lower for all customers.
Pierce said he wanted to reduce the renewable energy rate burden, particularly on residential and other small power users. The commission in January decided to give
Pierce’s proposal further consideration through hearings.
However, Pierce withdrew the proposal Tuesday and told the commission that he made a mistake during the January meeting. He said he suggested the new formula only as a talking point.
APS spokesman Jim McDonald said the utility did not oppose the decision to cancel further consideration of the Pierce proposal.
“The commission made the right decision [Tuesday], and I think it’s a great decision for Arizona and for the solar industry and it was good to see the commissioners honor their campaign promises not to reduce the renewable energy standard,” said Court Rich, senior partner for the Rose Law Group, which advocates for renewable energy groups before the commission. “In the few months since the election of the new commissioners, the ACC has unexpectedly slashed the program for putting solar on Arizona businesses and considered an amendment to roll back the state’s renewable energy goal,” Annie Lappé, solar policy director of Vote Solar, said in an e-mail. Lappé referred to the plan to change REST calculations and to the commission’s decision in January 2013 to reduce APS, TEP and UNS Electric incentives for customer-sited solarphotovoltaic panels (see CEM No. 1216 [17]).
However, polls show most Arizonans want increased investment in solar power, she said, “and APS’s own analysis shows solar to be one of the lowest cost sources of new generation”
If you’d like to discuss energy issues, contact Court Rich, Co-Chair of Rose Law Group’s Renewable Energy Department at crich@roselawgroup.com
