The public can weigh in on a recent state-commissioned report on the cost of moving Arizona to 100% carbon-free energy at a series of virtual town halls hosted next week by the Arizona Corporation Commission.
And judging by comments already filed in the matter, regulators will get an earful.
The report by Ascend Analytics analyzed the resource plans filed by Tucson Electric Power Co. and Arizona Public Service and concluded that shifting to 100% carbon-free power such as solar and wind would have a “low to moderate” impact on customer bills.
The report was requested by the commission as it looks to finalize draft state clean-energy rules requiring state-regulated utilities including TEP and APS to generate all of their power from carbon-free sources like solar, wind and nuclear by 2070.
But environmental and consumer advocates have panned the study as incomplete and worthless, saying it was biased because it was based on utility projections and ignored the benefits of renewable energy and energy efficiency.
The report cited estimates based on TEP’s projections that average home bills would rise $1.56 per month on average, including inflation, if the utility achieved 80% clean energy by 2050, or by $15.61 per month if TEP reached 100% carbon-free power by 2050.
But the Ascend report says that based on own its models, TEP bills could go up an average of $40.33 monthly under the 80% carbon-free scenario, or $58.23 monthly to reach 100% by 2050, compared with a “least cost” estimate based on continued use of natural-gas power plants.
Ascend said its results supported an emerging consensus that reaching 80% to 90% carbon-free energy is “achievable and cost-effective with today’s technology” over the next two decades.
Critics including the Arizona Public Interest Research Group Education Fund and Western Resource Advocates said the report was not independent because it used data from TEP’s and APS’s own integrated resource plans and used the utilities’ own computer cost-modeling software.
The groups say the report ignores critical data about the historical and potential benefits of green energy, energy efficiency and electric cars and the societal benefits of carbon reduction, while assuming natural gas will provide the lowest-cost energy in the future.
Both groups cited a study issued earlier this year showing that initial draft rules adopted by the commission last year would save APS and TEP $2 billion through 2035.
The Corporation Commission has scheduled three “virtual town halls” starting Tuesday, Sept. 21, to gather public feedback on the Ascend report, ahead of a special open meeting on the report starting on Sept. 28.
The virtual town halls will start at 6 p.m. on Sept. 21 and 22, and at 1 p.m. on Sept. 25.
For information on how to participate via Zoom or by telephone, including links and passcodes, go to tucne.ws/1ih5, or call the commission at 602-542-3935.
To view the Ascend report, go to tucne.ws/1ih6.
