Arizona Corporation Commission discusses water, electric, tax reform agenda items at Open Meeting

The Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) held last week its monthly Open Meeting to discuss and vote on various water, electric, securities, and tax reform agenda items.

Commissioners voted to approve a proposal by Tucson Electric Power Company to refund savings from federal tax reform to ratepayers.

The company will pass approximately $36.6 million in savings to customers through per kilowatt-hour bill credits and deferments of a portion as a regulatory liability. Tucson Electric Power Company estimates that a residential customer with an average consumption of 800 kilowatt hours will receive a monthly bill credit of approximately $4.49 per month beginning in May.

“I appreciate that you are refunding 100% of tax savings back to the ratepayers, and I would like to thank you for bringing this proposal before us today,” Commissioner Justin Olson said.

The commission also voted to advance a proposed streamlined rate application process rule modification for utility cooperatives. The modifications to Rule 103 and Rule 107 aim to create an alternative streamlined ratemaking application and process for nonprofit cooperatives providing electric or natural gas utility service in Arizona.

“This is a great step by the Commission to both reduce regulatory burdens and support rural Arizona,” ACC Chair Tom Forese said.

The streamlined process will be open to all classes of cooperatives with all levels of revenue as well as to affiliated water cooperatives.

The changes also allow cooperatives to ask for new surcharge mechanisms approved by the ACC and allows multi-jurisdictional cooperatives with less than 30 percent of their customer base in Arizona to request that their Arizona rates match those of the other states in which they operate without needing to meet all Rule 107 eligibility requirements.