Since 2018, longtime Phoenix resident Abhay Padgaonkar has worked as a fierce consumer advocate, fighting for the rights of those who struggle to pay their utility bills and keeping tabs on utility companies and the commission that regulates them. Read more» 
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In the wake of attacks on substations across the nation, a bill at the Arizona legislature would create a new classification for the criminal activity and make those who interfere with a utility liable for the cost of loss of power. Read more»
The vice chairwoman of the Tohono O’odham Nation told a House panel Wednesday that economic development on her remote reservation is hobbled by everything from a lack of basic infrastructure like roads and water to inadequate capital. Read more»
A report released this week by the Sierra Club faults dozens of utilities that provide a major chunk of U.S. electric generation for failing to speed up their decarbonization efforts, with Arizona utilities - including Tucson Electric Power - among those that got worse grades. Read more»
State and local officials disbursed $1.5 billion in rental assistance during June to help households falling behind on rent and utilities, but the money that has reached renters so far — a little more than $3 billion — is just a fraction of the $46 billion approved by Congress. Read more»
On April 14 the commission voted 3-2 to preliminarily approve a package of measures regulating when utilities can shut off service for nonpayment. Read more»
Witnesses at the House Natural Resources subcommittee hearing Wednesday cited statistics that depict a bleak picture of infrastructure on reservations, including water and electricity, and said that even those numbers were likely overly optimistic. “It’s time for America to support the Navajo Nation and all Indigenous communities and invest in utility infrastructure,” said Walter Haase, general manager of the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority. Read more»
A new Tucson Utility Bill Assistance fund has been developed by Pima County and the City of Tucson for qualifying residents experiencing financial hardship resulting from the pandemic. Private sector companies such as Tucson Electric Power, Tucson Water and Southwest Gas are participating in this aid, as funds will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis or until exhausted. Read more»
The Arizona Supreme Court may have opened the door to allowing the legislature to overrule the Corporation Commission on renewable energy standards. Read more»
The Republican Party will have three candidates for the Corporation Commission after Jim O'Connor earned enough write-in votes to qualify for the November ballot. Read more»
Three of the five seats on the Arizona Corporation Commission are up for grabs. While the regulatory body is not as well known as others, its decisions regulate energy production and expenses for utilities. The ACC has perhaps the biggest impact on your monthly bills of any state agency. Read more»
The nonprofit fundraising arm of Arizona State University gave $100,000 to a shadowy political group that spent at least $2.4 million on TV ads attacking state candidates who sided with the solar industry during last year's election. Read more»
You might be tempted to pass on a story in Sunday's Arizona Republic with the process-y headline, "Case Asks Who Must Pay Taxes for Utility." Don't. It's about a case that's a rare window into how power and influence work in the state. Power, especially, at what insiders call "the fourth branch of government," the Arizona Corporation Commission. Read more»
