Along with APS proposed 14% rate increase, the utility is also seeking a formula rate that has some utility customers worried their bills will automatically go up.
But APS says it’s not quite that simple.
APS says the Arizona Corporation Commission would still need to approve any proposed rate hikes that would come from the formula.
There is also something called a dead band, where the utility can only ask for a rate increase if the cost of providing electricity exceeds a certain year over year threshold.
APS says the formula is meant to simplify the rate process in the coming years. But critics say that would also mean the public gets less input.
APS customer Vanessa Perez spoke against the formula rate at a public hearing last week.
“Because now after repeated increases, APS wants the ability to raise rates with less public oversight and fewer opportunities for community input," Perez said.
At a recent debate, Commissioners Nick Myers and Kevin Thompson supported formula rates, arguing they would prevent large rate spikes year to year.
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The Arizona Supreme Court will review a case challenging the Citizen Clean Elections Commission’s power to claw money back from candidates who receive public campaign dollars from the agency. -
Last month, Corporation Commissioner Lea Márquez Peterson asked Arizona utilities to explain how prices and reliability could be impacted if the Pacific Northwest's Bonneville Power Administration does not join their new resource trading market. -
The Arizona Corporation Commission is facing a complaint accusing it of violating the state’s open meeting law after it voted to redact video of a public meeting where commissioners talked about a staffer who was recently fired. -
Data analyst Abhay Padgoankar says a group of around 100 data centers and other large industrial users have nearly all of the increased demand on APS's system in recent years. To keep up with demand, he says, the utility is buying more power from outside suppliers and charging that across the entire rate base. -
The Mesa City Council approved landing fees at Falcon Field airport in March to help keep the airport self-sustaining. In April, the Federal Aviation Administration initiated a review over concerns the fees target specific airport users.
