By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services
Key Points:
- Arizona Court of Appeals blocks expedited rate hike requests by utilities
- The court requires the Residential Utility Consumer Office to legally prove the rate hike process is a formal rule
- Investor-owned utilities have a monopoly, requiring commission approval for rate hikes
The state Court of Appeals has thrown a hurdle into the Arizona Corporation Commission’s efforts to expedite rate hike requests.
In a unanimous decision, the judges said the Residential Utility Consumer Office should be given the chance to prove that the process for reviewing rate increases adopted by the all-Republican commission last year is a formal rule.
What makes that important is that the three-judge panel refused to accept the commissioners’ argument that what they had done was a mere change in policy — something they were free to do without the extensive hearings and public input required for a new rule.
