By Ryan Randazzo | Arizona Republic
Robert Burns, who spent eight years on the Corporation Commission, with two as chairman before terming out last year, said the Corporation Commission is the best venue to determine the appropriate energy mix for the state.
The Legislature’s efforts to strip state regulators of powers to set renewable-energy rules are unconstitutional and lawmakers should leave complex policy issues to the experts, former utility regulator Robert Burns said in a letter Monday.
The fiery missive to lawmakers is the latest development in a statewide debate over which elected officials have the legal authority to decide what type of energy electric companies should use. The Arizona Constitution gives the five Corporation Commissioners authority over utility rates, but several GOP lawmakers — frustrated by new clean-energy rules — want to limit the commission and keep energy policymaking for themselves.
Burns, a Republican who spent 20 years in the Arizona House and Senate, including two years as Senate President, and eight years on the Corporation Commission, with two as chairman before terming out last year, said the Corporation Commission is the best venue to determine the appropriate energy mix for the state.
