AriSEIA to Hold Press Conference on APS Rate Case

***MEDIA ADVISORY***

Contact: 
Autumn Johnson
520-240-4757
[email protected]

Thursday, Feb. 22 press conference: 
Arizona Solar Advocates Call on the ACC to Vote NO on a New Discriminatory Solar Charge

Phoenix, Arizona – On Thursday, February 22 at 8:30 a.m, Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) stakeholders and solar advocates will hold a press conference to call on the ACC to vote no on a brand new charge being targeted only at APS customers with solar.

APS has proposed to increase rates for all of its customers by 13%. This significant increase comes on the heels of a 2023 rate hike caused by APS’s overreliance on natural gas that increased the average residential customer’s bill by $145 annually. The ACC has now proposed that solar customers rates be increased by 15% more than everyone else. This will result in an additional fee of $3-4 a month per solar customer in addition to the 13% overall rate hike. This discriminatory fee was proposed in the final stage of a multi-year rate case proceeding, and there has been no testimony or briefing addressing the fee or opportunity for the public to comment on it. Multiple parties have called on the ACC to eliminate the solar-specific fee when they vote on the rate case on February 22nd.

At the press conference, speakers will describe how local rooftop solar helps to reduce grid costs and protect ratepayers from skyrocketing gas prices, the solar fee the ACC has proposed, and the impact such a discriminatory fee will have on ratepayers and the solar industry in Arizona.

Who:

• Autumn Johnson, Executive Director, Arizona Solar Energy Industries Association
• Adrian Keller, Arizona Program Director, Solar United Neighbors 
• Kate Bowman, Interior West Regulatory Director, Vote Solar
• Possible additional speakers

When:
Thursday, February 22, 2024
8:30 AM MST

​Where:
Arizona Corporation Commission
1200 W. Washington Street
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Interviews:
Speakers will be available for questions following the press conference.
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