Danny Kennedy, Contributing Writer | Phoenix Business Journal
The potential for solar power is arguably greater in Arizona than in any other state in the U.S. Arizona already has more solar jobs per capita than anywhere in the country. Nearly 10,000 Arizona workers manufacture solar equipment, install panels on rooftops or are otherwise employed by one of 290 solar companies, including mine.
The good news is that more than 138,000 Arizonans to date have chosen rooftop solar and live in homes largely powered by the sun.
To most folks, that would sound like good news. But not to Arizona Public Service Co., the state’s largest utility. To APS, those 138,000 households producing their own power represent a threat to its monopolized utility model of doing business. APS sees those choosing solar power not as customers, but as competitors. So the utility currently is before the Arizona Corporation Commission, the entity that regulates utilities in the state, proposing new fees and regulations that would quash the solar freedom of those families.
