Corp. Commission candidates debate shift in energy sources
Candidates competing for two seats on the Arizona Corporation Commission debated Monday if utilities should offer financial help to communities with closing coal plants, build nuclear plants and use more renewable energy.
The Citizens Clean Election Commission debate hosted by Arizona PBS and moderated by Arizona Horizons host Ted Simons and Arizona Republic reporter Richard Ruelas exposed sharp contrasts among the four candidates.
One of the key moments of the debate came when the candidates were asked whether electric companies owed anything to communities like Page, where coal-fired power plants have closed or are scheduled to close.
Republicans Nick Myers and Kevin Thompson said no; Democrats Sandra Kennedy and Lauren Kuby said yes.
The Corporation Commission sets rates and policies for electric, water and gas utilities. It also sets policies for things like when companies can shut off power for customers who don’t pay and where those companies get their power.
Compensating coal communities for the power plants closing in their midst is controversial for the commissioners.
Arizona Public Service Co., the state’s largest electric company, proposed providing $144 million to coal communities in its last rate case before the commission. The money would have helped the Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe and non-reservation areas like Joseph City where a coal plant is scheduled to close in a few years.
But the measure failed, with concern the payments would be improper. Among the complicating factors was sorting out which utilities and their customers should bear responsibility and how much the tribes would receive.
Among the concerns were ratepayer funds going to non-ratepayers.
Commissioners instead voted to continue exploring the idea. Many still are hopeful utilities will help kick start new economic opportunities.
“I am not a fan of just giving money to some of those communities,” said Myers,
a policy adviser to current Republican Commissioner Justin Olson.
He said he would prefer to see small “micro nuclear” reactors open in those communities to help keep their economies afloat.
“Let’s talk about when the coal plants are starting to shut down ... let’s talk about starting to transition them to new generation. Keep that economy working,” Myers said. “Let’s do this transition intelligently instead of just forking out a bunch of money.”
Kuby, a former Tempe councilwoman, said abandoning the coal communities was a “moral stain upon our state.”
“We’ve been able to grow our cities, Tucson and Phoenix ... because of extracting resources from these coalbased communities,” Kuby said. “Look at Joseph City, St. Johns, Springerville, Page. These communities have been dependent on coal. We cannot leave them behind.”
Kuby praised Kennedy, who serves on the commission, for her efforts to get utilities to compensate the coal communities.
Have tribes received enough?
Thompson, a Mesa councilman, aligned with Myers on the issue.
“The EPA is the one that really is mandating and forcing the closure of a lot of these. It deals really with the haze issues,” Thompson said. “I don’t think that the utilities, the ratepayers, should be on the hook for reimbursing or bailing out these communities across Arizona. This is something the federal government has forced upon Arizona and they should be the ones bailing out these communities.”
Thompson also suggested using existing coal sites to house new, small nuclear reactors. Kennedy interrupted stating that nuclear is not the cheapest electricity. Kuby challenged him on the reason for coal plants closing.
“It’s market economics,” Kuby said. “You don’t see APS saying we want to build a new coal power plant.”
Myers said communities with coal plants have seen tremendous benefits and don’t need financial support.
“What nobody is talking about is the fact that that the economies that have the coal plants, they have raked in billions and billions of dollars from taxes for those plants, from energy that’s been sold,” Myers said. “Multiple billions of dollars these nations have already received. To say they need more money and more transition is disingenuous. I think they had that and are getting that.”
A moderator asked if coal communities should take more responsibility for their faltering economies as plants shut down. Myers agreed.
“Yes, to a certain degree maybe they should have planned a little bit better because they knew these were going to happen,” Myers said. “But the bigger issue is it is not the job of the ratepayers in Arizona to get into foreign aid.”
He said it may be illegal to provide such financial support to tribes. Kennedy challenged that comment. “Maybe tribal lands and councils should not have gotten into the business of allowing utilities on their land? Where would we be? That’s just preposterous,” Kennedy said.
Renewables vs. gas plant
Other issues prompted less animation though candidates disagree widely on the subjects.
The Republicans disapproved of requiring utilities to use a certain amount of renewable energy. The Democrats supported such requirements.
The Democrats agreed with the recent Corporation Commission decision to reject a massive natural-gas plant expansion for Salt River Project, while the Republicans said it possibly exceeded the commissioners’ authority.
The candidates also got into a heated exchange over whether out-of-state electric companies should compete with Arizona utilities for customers.
The Republicans previously thought the concept was worthy of consideration, but after state lawmakers repealed the language in state law allowing such competition, Thompson said the debate was “moot.”