Photo by Gage Skidmore
By Reagan Priest | State Affairs
Attorney General Kris Mayes is appealing an Arizona Corporation Commission decision greenlighting a contract between Tucson Electric Power and the developers behind the “Project Blue” data center.
On Thursday, Mayes’ office appealed a December decision from the commission approving an energy sharing agreement that allows TEP to provide power to the controversial data center project. In a statement, Mayes said certain provisions of the agreement could violate the Arizona Constitution.
“The Commission does not have the power to let a utility and a data center operator quietly agree to set their own rates, cut the public out of the process, and call it a day,” Mayes said. “If we allow that here, we are telling every large energy customer in Arizona that they can negotiate sweetheart rates outside of public oversight — and ordinary Arizonans will be left to pick up the tab.”
The energy sharing agreement allows TEP and the data center operator to change the agreed upon rate schedule for service without commission review or approval, something Mayes argues violates the commission’s exclusive ratemaking authority outlined in the Arizona Constitution.
