A slate of self-described “clean energy” candidates who are reportedly engineering a “takeover” of the Salt River Project (SRP) Board say they want to increase Arizona’s reliance on renewable energy with a focus on “justice, equity and inclusion.”
The SRP Clean Energy Team of candidates for the SRP Board and Council elections, for which voting has commenced will conclude on April 2, admits online that its “vision for SRP” involves “a diverse board” that intends to “address voting rights to give all customers a vote” and govern to “ensure justice, equity and inclusion, while prioritizing climate issues and sustainable clean energy” in Arizona’s energy generation.
SRP Clean Energy Team includes 14 candidates. Though the offices are nonpartisan, many candidates seem to be affiliated with progressive or Democratic causes.
One of the candidates is former Sandra Kennedy, a Democrat who has served as a state senator and member of the Arizona Corporation Commission. She is now running for SRP Board At-Large Seat 13.
Casey Clowes, a candidate for SRP Board At-Large Seat 11, “currently works as the Voting Rights Director at Progress Arizona. She collaborates with non-profit organizations, labor unions, and other community members to fight for pro-voter and pro-democracy policies at the state legislature,” according to the SRP Clean Energy Team website.
Another candidate is Lauren Kuby, a former Tempe City Council Member and vice mayor who ran as a Democrat for the Arizona Corporation Commission. The website explains that Kuby “led Tempe’s efforts for social, economic, environmental, and racial justice, including climate action, equal pay, earned sick days, affordable housing, animal welfare, urban forestry, transparency, and campaign-finance reform.”
The group’s website additionally explains a fourth candidate, Dr. Ashley Hodge, “wants to promote environmental justice by ensuring our transition to a clean energy economy is done in a just and equitable way.”
If elected, the slate of candidates promise they will “[g]et serious about greenhouse gas reductions” by setting “retirement dates for all” coal plants in the SRP service area and increasing the state’s reliance on solar.
SRP board incumbent Stephen Williams recently told 12 News the Clean Energy Team is pursuing an “attempted takeover of SRP.”
The outlet explained Williams also questioned the group’s promises to push solar on Arizona energy companies, stating to 12 News, “I like solar power, but let’s be real— the sun doesn’t shine at night. We’ve got to keep our homes cool and our lights on round the clock. That’s why SRP mixes it up with things like natural gas plants.”
Established in 1903, SRP services 2,800 square miles and more than 1.1 million customers. It also provides water to 375 square miles. In addition to overseeing what type of power generation can be used by Arizona electric companies in its service area, SRP also sets energy rates for customers.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and the Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Bartlett Dam of Salt River Project” by Bureau of Reclamation. CC BY-SA 2.0.
