by Madeline Armstrong
Eight candidates competed for the three open seats on the Arizona Corporation Commission – three were registered Republicans in the race, three were Democrats and two were affiliated with the Green Party.
All three of those candidates endorsed by Arizona’s Republican party claimed the available seats with Rachel Walden receiving 17.89% of the votes, Rene Lopez receiving 17.37% and Incumbent Lea Marquez Peterson receiving 16.89% at 99% of precincts reporting.
“It is a great honor to be elected to the Arizona Corporation Commission,” reads a post by Walden on X. “Thank you to all of the volunteers who knocked on doors, made calls on my behalf, and put up signs. I am so grateful for all of the grassroots efforts. But I am especially grateful for the hundreds of thousands of votes. Thank you for trusting me to serve on the Arizona Corporation Commission. I look forward to serving you to make sure our utilities are affordable and reliable.”
Incumbent Ylenia Aguilar was not able to retain her seat on the commission.
“While the outcome wasn’t what we hoped, I’m grateful to all the volunteers who helped shape this campaign,” Aguilar said. “It’s been an honor running [for] state office, meeting so many wonderful people, and visiting communities across our beautiful state. I will always advocate [for] the people of AZ.”
The ACC race has been scrutinized this year after Arizona saw one of its hottest summers in history resulting in energy price rate hikes. Some Arizona residents saw their energy bills increase by up to $100 a month.
According to a study conducted by Texas Electricity Ratings, Arizona is among the top ten states to see energy price increases with an estimate of $2,190.60 per household in 2024. The Democratic-backed candidates claimed that this was due to the current commission which has historically been led by registered Republicans. While prices did increase in recent years, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration places Arizona near the national average in monthly electric bills per household.
In 2023, the ACC approved numerous energy rate hikes, which Petersen said were necessary and fair. These increases include a 9.31% revenue hike for Southwest Gas, a 153% hike for APS fuel reimbursements, a PSA rate increase that is expected to add almost $10 to users’ monthly bills and a rate increase for Southwest Gas that would allow it to recoup an “under-collected” amount of $357 million.
“We’re all being hit by inflation, but a lot of our utilities have been dragging these expenses around for years,” Walden said during a debate hosted by the Arizona Clean Elections Commission. “Now it’s time to pay the bill.”
However, Joshua Polacheck, who only received 14.44% of the votes, claimed that utility companies are also seeing record profits.
“We should not be seeing record profits with our utilities while we’re seeing record prices every month with our electricity and gas bills,” Polacheck said.
Something Democrats across the state have been advocating for that they believe would help lower costs is shifting towards renewable energy sources.
“Right now it is cheaper to be building clean energy in our state, but instead we are providing perverse incentives to the utilities to be building infrastructure that we don’t need and getting in the way of our clean energy future,” Polacheck said. “There is a possibility of letting the market go free and I can’t believe I’m saying this as a Democrat, but the Republicans on this stage are getting in the way of the free market when it comes to energy.”
Polacheck also cited during his campaign the recent complaints from Mohave County residents following the approval of four new energy turbines being built near Kingman – and the ACC allowing them to do so without the typically necessary requirement of a certification of environmental compatibility.
The three candidates that will be joining the commission have all agreed on their main purpose which is to protect Arizona ratepayers and keep energy costs fair in Arizona.
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Madeline Armstrong is a reporter for The Center Square.
Photo “Arizona Corporation Commission Building” by Arizona Corporation Commission.
