Mayes asks court to vacate Corporation Commission approval of Tucson data center Project Blue

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes is asking a Maricopa County Superior Court judge to review a decision that greenlights a massive data center proposal near Tucson.

The Arizona Corporation Commission approved a plan late last year put forth by developer Beale Infrastructure to build a data center on a 290-acre stretch of Pima County land that would be cooled using electricity from Tucson Electric Power. Where it’ll get the water it needs for day-to-day operations is still unclear.

In her court filing this week, Mayes says the agreement has TEP and Beale setting electricity rates between themselves. She argues that violates the Arizona Constitution — which gives the ACC exclusive authority to set utility rates.

She’s asking the court to vacate the Commission’s approval of the plan.

Arizona Corporation Commission Chair Nick Myers says the commission is filing a response to Mayes' appeal, and the project's Energy Service Agreement, or ESA, “adds customer protection to customer protection to an existing TEP tariff.”

“I find it odd that the Attorney General is opposing a Commission decision that protects ratepayers from cost shift from data centers,” Myers said in a statement. “Nothing in the agreement approved by the Commission ‘gave away’ nor restricted, limited or hindered in any manner its constitutional authority.”