By Ryan Randazzo | The Arizona Republic
Deregulating electricity sales in Arizona would give customers more choices and generate healthy competition for monopoly utilities, according to one side of the ongoing debate.
Or, it could create a host of problems and lead to higher power rates while utilities struggle to navigate a complex and unwieldy system, according to the other.
The Arizona Corporation Commission has reopened the issue of deregulation in Arizona after it was halted in the early 2000s following the California energy crisis and a 2004 court decision that upended some of Arizona’s rules.
Advocates and opponents of the idea pleaded their case to an important group Tuesday that could help decide the issue — the Residential Utility Consumer Office, which was created by the legislature to intervene in utility issues on behalf of customers.
If you’d like to discuss energy issues, contact Court Rich, Co-Chair of Rose Law Group’s Renewable Energy Department at crich@roselawgroup.com
