Two state lawmakers will attempt to unseat their fellow Republicans on the Arizona Corporation Commission, the state’s top utility regulator. The campaign marks the latest inter-party challenge backed by the far-right Freedom Caucus and its leader, state Sen. Jake Hoffman.
Reps. David Marshall (R-Snowflake) and Ralph Heap (R-Mesa) filed paperwork on Tuesday to run for the Corporation Commission, which oversees public utility companies along with railroads, financial securities and some business registration functions.
Marshall and Heap are challenging Commissioners Kevin Thompson and Nick Myers, Republicans who were elected to the body in 2022.
Thompson, the commission’s chair, and Myers currently serve on an all-Republican commission.
But Marshall and Heap criticized the incumbents for being too deferential to the utilities they regulate, pointing to rate increases approved by the commission in recent years.
“We have two candidates who have stepped up to fix the wrongs that are happening at the Arizona Corporation Commission, two candidates that say no to double digit rate hikes,” Hoffman said.
The commission approved an 8% rate hike for Arizona Public Service last year and a 10% increase for Tucson Electric Power in 2023. Both utilities recently filed paperwork notifying the commission they plan to seek new increases soon.
Hoffman criticized the commission for moving forward with a new “formula rate plan” model that critics argue could allow utilities to seek more frequent increases based on a formula rather than the traditional rate plan process.
“The Corporation Commission is supposed to be a check on the utilities and an advocate for the people of this state, for the rate payers of this state,” Hoffman said.
But Marshall didn’t commit to removing the formula rate process entirely.
“The problem that it does is it strips rate payers out, and I don't think that we need to change it, maybe refine it,” he said.
Myers defended the decision to approve rate increases and the formula rate plans. He argued it gives utilities a way to recover costs faster and also prevents rate shock from larger rate hikes every several years.
“So I think it's largely a matter of they just don't understand how it works,” Myers said.
Both Marshall and Heap also argued that Thompson and Myers aren’t sufficiently supportive of President Trump’s energy agenda.
Heap pointed to their opposition to re-opening the coal-powered Cholla Power Plant. Trump called for the plant to be re-opened after declaring an “energy emergency” in the U.S. and issuing coal-friendly executive orders.
“Coal gives us the base load power that we need. That's one of the most efficient sources of that base load power,” Heap said.
Thompson and Myers argued most of the criticism they’re receiving from fellow Republicans is based on a lack of understanding of utility policy.
“Energy is more complex than just a bumper sticker and that's what these guys want to do is just throw out a slogan that you can put on a bumper,” Thompson said.
Thompson and Myers did not respond to a request for comment, but they’ve previously argued that re-opening the Cholla plant would not be cost-effective and would actually increase costs for APS ratepayers — flying in the face of Heap and Marshall’s promise to fight rising electricity rates.
Thompson estimated it would cost $2 billion to get the plant back up and running, which would lead to increased rates.
Thompson and Myers said they are supportive of finding ways to keep Arizona’s other coal power plants online. But Thompson also told KJZZ that Arizona needs a diverse mix of energy sources, from gas and coal to nuclear and renewables, to ensure the reliability as demand continues to rise every year in Arizona.
“I'm proud of the all of the above approach that this Commission has taken,” he said.
Heap claimed the estimated cost to re-open Cholla are “overblown,” and claimed there were not plans in place to replace the energy lost by shutting down the coal plant.
However, at a recent Corporation Commission meeting, APS said keeping the plant online didn’t make financial sense. And the utility said it had more than enough power to meet its projected demand this summer, even with Cholla shut down.
APS said it is exploring plans to repurpose the Cholla site as a natural gas or nuclear plant in the future – plans Thompson, Myers, Heap and Marshall all said they support.
And, outside of calls to reopen Cholla, it’s unclear exactly how Heap and Marshall’s vision for Arizona’s energy future differs from their counterparts.
“We should be opening new fossil fuel plants, not closing them,” Heap said. “We must collaborate with the Trump administration to reduce the regulatory burdens and advance clean, efficient nuclear energy technology.”
Heap accused Thompson and Myers of pushing too aggressively for utilities to adopt renewable sources, like solar and wind power, which he claimed were unreliable.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Arizona currently got 46% of its energy from natural gas in 2023, followed by nuclear power at 27%. Coal (10%), solar energy (10%), hydroelectric power (5%), and wind (1%) made up smaller portions of the state’s portfolio.
Heap said “there’s a place for renewables,” but argued they shouldn’t be the state’s primary source of energy.
Thompson has staked out a similar position, saying renewables have a place in the state’s energy portfolio.
“But I think for that base load generation, you're still going to have to have natural gas. I don't think there's a way around it,” he said.
So far, many Republicans are lining up behind the incumbents. They’ve rolled out endorsements from around a dozen state lawmakers and their three fellow Republican commissioners.
But Heap and Marshall aren’t fazed, despite their relative lack of experience with utility regulation and the other areas covered by the commission./
Heap, a retired doctor in his first year at the Legislature, sits on the House’s Natural Resources, Energy and Water Committee, but he has not sponsored any utility-related legislation. And Marshall, a former police officer, has sponsored one piece of utility-related legislation, a bill that would strengthen zoning rules for wind farms that hasn’t advanced out of the Arizona Senate.
But Heap said their lack of connections to the utility industry is a good thing.
“The original idea was to put more regular citizens on the corporation, rather than the insiders and people who had special knowledge,” he said. “The problem is, if you are connected to the utilities, and in some ways you'd have more knowledge, but then the conflicts of interest arise.”
