By Tom Sheahan and Barry Goldwater Jr. | Scottsdale Independent
(Editor’s note: Opinion pieces are published for discussions purposes only.)
One of us is a former lawmaker, the other a former lawman. Both of us are very concerned about what lies ahead for all Arizona in terms of the cost of electricity. There are some storm clouds ahead.
We’re hoping Corporation Commission Chairman Doug Little can prevent ratepayers from being soaked by demand charges and uphold net metering. His recent actions and emerging philosophical approach give us hope.
Unisource Energy wants to impose radical demand charges on rooftop solar customers in Kingman, Lake Havasu City, and Nogales. Demand charges don’t bill ratepayers for the power they actually use; they bill customers based on the single hour in which they use the most power.