Overview
- The Arizona Corporation Commission voted Wednesday to finalize repeal of the Electric Energy Efficiency Standards that were adopted in 2010 to force utilities to achieve cumulative savings equal to a 22% reduction by 2020.
- Commissioners said utilities had already exceeded the goal and that annual reporting and surcharge recovery no longer justified the mandate, citing changing load patterns from large data centers and factories.
- Data submitted to the commission showed the two largest investor-owned utilities exceeded the target, with Arizona Public Service reporting about 26% cumulative savings and Tucson Electric Power about 28.5%.
- Commission staff and efficiency advocates warned the repeal could remove incentives and mandatory reporting that drive upgrades, which the staff said may lead to higher long-term energy consumption and residential bills.
- Utilities said they will keep some existing programs and can include efficiency or demand-response in long-range plans, while critics urged the commission to replace the old mandate with updated, performance-based rules and pointed to national studies showing efficiency often costs less than new generation.