AriSEIA was granted a rehearing on the grid access charge (a discriminatory fee on solar), which was imposed in the most recent APS rate case. This fee charges a new flat fee on all solar customers in APS service territory with no substantive basis in the record. Therefore, a rehearing was granted. APS is seeking to defend this discriminatory fee on solar is also trying to rush the rehearing, so that parties like AriSEIA cannot build the record against the charge. Therefore, we proposed our own schedule. The administrative law judge will take up this matter on Friday.
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AriSEIA filed a response to Commissioner Tovar's letter in the Unisource Electric (UNSE) Certificate of Environmental Compatibility (CEC) matter. The letter inquired about the policy statement surrounding the Line Siting statutes and UNSE's interpretation. Read her letter here.
A recent Arizona Republic article thoroughly discussed Mohave Electric Cooperative’s Mohave Energy Park and its local opposition. It also stated that “with a capacity of 98 megawatts – just shy of the 100 MW limit that requires approval under Arizona law by a committee that would provide a ‘forum for interested and affected individuals.'"
What folks in Mohave County may not know is that Unisource Electric (UNSE) is simultaneously planning a 200 MW expansion of Black Mountain Generating Station located in Golden Valley. Not only is the UNSE gas plant expansion twice as big as the Mohave Electric project, but UNSE is arguing that the Arizona law referenced above should be reinterpreted to exempt their project from review, too. UNSE has asked the Arizona Power Plant and Line Siting Committee to waive its jurisdiction over the Black Mountain Expansion Project because the individual turbines are less than 100 MW. UNSE argues that Arizona law considers the individual turbines “plants” instead of the entire project and since their turbines are 50 MW each for a total of 200 MW of new gas, they do not need review. Not only would this limit the ability of Mohave County residents to weigh in on the siting of this project, but it would pave the way for all utilities in Arizona to argue the same thing for their projects. If UNSE is successful, essentially all new gas plants in Arizona would be exempt from the law that intended to create a public process and protect the local environment from new power plants. Mohave County residents, like everyone in Arizona, would not have a voice at the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) before these plants are built. April 24 is the time to offer public comment on UNSE’s interpretation of Arizona law. The public can file comments online through the ACC’s website (use Docket No. L-00000F-24-0056-00230) or in person, via Zoom, or via the telephone at the time of the hearing (April 24 starting at 10 a.m.). The hearing will take place at the ACC at 1200 W. Washington Street in Phoenix. Unisource Electric (UNSE) the sister company of Tucson Electric Power (TEP) and subsidiary of Fortis Inc., an international energy company, has asked the Arizona Power Plant and Line Siting Committee (and the ACC) to waive its jurisdiction over new gas projects. UNSE is planning a 200 MW expansion of Black Mountain Generating Station located in Mohave County. UNSE is arguing that Arizona law should be reinterpreted to exempt their project from review because the individual turbines are less than 100 MW. The hearing is on April 24, 2024.
AriSEIA filed an objection to UNSE's motion to consolidate all intervenors in their Line Siting matter as one, which would deprive AriSEIA of its due process rights, violate the law, and leave industry with no representation in a proceeding that could change the way all new gas power plants in our state are regulated.
AriSEIA filed a response to a filing by UNSE that opposed the scheduling continuance requested by another party. AriSEIA also asserted that there are factual issues, in addition to legal issues, that will need to be heard by the Line Siting committee before the issue of jurisdiction is resolved.
Unisource Electric, the sister company to Tucson Electric Power (TEP), has filed an application for a 200 MW gas plant in Mohave County and has asked the Power Plant and Line Siting Committee of the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) to waive its jurisdiction. This is problematic, because if granted, utilities would essentially stop getting ACC approval to build any new gas plants. Review would essentially be limited to transmission lines.
ACC Staff issued questions to "interested parties" regarding the export rate (Resource Comparison Proxy (RCP)). AriSEIA has opposed reopening the Value of Solar decision. You can read our full responses above.
AriSEIA filed a motion to the ACC to reconsider the APS rate case, specifically the higher charge to solar customers. The basis of our argument is that the fee is arbitrary and capricious, discriminatory, and a violation of our due process.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Autumn Johnson autumn@ariseia.org 520-240-4757 Phoenix, AZ - Yesterday, the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) voted 4-1 to impose a new and discriminatory fee on rooftop solar customers in APS service territory. The new fee imposes a 15% greater increase on solar customers, over and above the rate increase that all customers will see starting on March 8th. The fee will show up on most customers' bills as a "grid access charge" and will be approximately $2-3 a month in addition the the rate increase everyone will get of approximately $10-12 a month, per APS. AriSEIA opposed the fee and offered an amendment to eliminate it from the rate case, which was not adopted. AriSEIA championed a Virtual Power Plant (VPP) program that was adopted 5-0 as a pilot program to commence next year. This program will save all ratepayers money, by allowing customers with batteries to opt in and share their battery capacity with APS when there is high demand on the grid, thereby limiting the need to build new, replacement resources. The ACC also voted 5-0 to prohibit APS from competing with private industry in the microgrid space and voted 5-0 to correct on-peak hours for a commercial storage tariff called E-32 L SP, both upon AriSEIA's request. AriSEIA's request to stop disproportionately negative impacts from increased demand rates over energy rates on the E-32 M and E-32 L rate plans was not adopted. "Yesterday was a challenging day for solar in Arizona. In a state with more than 300 days of sunshine, almost 400 solar companies that employ more than 8.250 people and contribute more than $1.5 billion to the state annually, we should be looking at ways to foster the sector, not penalize it. An unsubstantiated and discriminatory fee on solar customers is a step in the wrong direction," said Autumn Johnson, Executive Director of AriSEIA. AriSEIA plans to file a Motion for Reconsideration on the solar charge and will engage with APS on the VPP program implementation. AriSEIA is the state's solar, storage, and electrification trade association. It is the only trade association in the state that focuses on all scales of solar at every level of government, doing both regulatory and legislative work, and has boots on the ground. |
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