Burns fires up lightsaber, goes after APS records

Corporation Commissioner Bob Burns channeled his inner Obi-Wan on Thursday and issued subpoenas to Arizona Public Service and its parent, Pinnacle West Capital Corp. This, in a lone-commissioner quest to find out whether the state’s largest utility spent $3.2 million in 2014 to install a pair of friendly faces on the commission that regulates utilities.

Curiously, Burns’ colleagues — including Commissioner Andy Tobin, who is up for election in next week’s primary — have no interest in knowing whether APS quietly spent millions in an effort to get Commissioners Tom Forese and Doug Little elected.

Burns, who also is up for re-election, is the only one of the five commissioners asking questions — something he’s been doing since last November.

Earlier this month, Burns hired an expert in utility law to help him in his investigation but the commission nixed the contract. So now he’s going it alone.

“I had hoped to commence this effort with the assistance of an expert but my fellow commissioners defunded that contract,” Burns said. “My fellow commissioners have attempted to stop my efforts every step of the way so today I move forward on my own without the assistance of the expert.”

He’s given APS/Pinnacle West executives until Sept. 15 to produce all documents about their political, lobbying and charitable spending and to appear before the commission to answer questions on Oct. 6.

Look for APS/Pinnacle West’s CEO Don Brandt to reject Burns’ request — as he has previously, in pre-subpoena days — or to just flat-out ignore it.

Never mind that Attorney General Mark Brnovich has said a lone commissioner has the authority to pry open the utility’s books.

“An individual commissioner may gather information regarding a PSC’s (public service corporation’s) political and charitable contributions and lobbying expenditures, by inspecting the books and records of a PSC and examining under oath PSC personnel,” according to the Brnovich open, released in May.

Brnovich, in the opinion, also cited a court ruling that extends that investigative power “to all corporations which offer stock for sale to the public.” In other words: Pinnacle West. I’m guessing Burns will have to take Team Brandt to court.

Assuming Burns’ office can afford to get to court, that is. (I’m guessing his colleagues on the commission won’t have his back on this one.)

It’ll be one commissioner against perhaps the state’s most powerful player — one with connections to most of Arizona’s elected officials.

Me? I’m hoping Burns’ lightsaber is up to the task.

Like Obi-Wan, he’s our only hope if we are ever get to the bottom of whether APS/Pinnacle West mounted a secret political campaign in 2014 to stack the commission that sets the size of its profits — and your utility bills. (Well, there’s also the FBI, which has been sniffing around, but I digress.)

Funny, that so few of our elected leaders seem to care about this, isn’t it?