APS has been charging a punitive and discriminatory fee against residential rooftop solar customers for almost a year and AriSEIA has been fighting it every step of the way. Today we joined with the Solar Energy Industries Association and two individual ratepayers in filing for an appeal with the Arizona Court of Appeals.
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AriSEIA filed for reconsideration/rehearing today on the APS grid access charge and "legacy adjustment." These are two charges that uniquely punish solar customers for using less power from APS. The fee is currently ~$2.50 a month per customer, but APS has said it should be $88 a month per customer and the ACC has ordered them to increase it in their next rate case, which they plan to file this year. Applying for rehearing is a necessary step towards appealing to the Arizona Court of Appeals, which we plan to do on January 30th.
Arizona Corporation Commission Upholds APS’ Punitive and Discriminatory Fee on Rooftop Solar12/17/2024 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Autumn Johnson 520-240-4757 [email protected] Phoenix, AZ: Today, the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) voted to uphold a fee on all Arizona Public Service (APS) solar customers. APS has nearly 200,000 solar customers, all of whom are paying 15% more than the rate increase approved for all residential customers this year. The ACC upheld the fees after granting a rehearing on this issue at the request of AriSEIA, Vote Solar, and the Arizona Attorney General’s Office. The ACC refused to consider key evidence in the record. In January, the ACC surprised stakeholders by inserting a “grid access charge” into APS’ nearly completed rate case. AriSEIA argued the fee should be removed from the rate case decision, which was unheeded by the ACC. Therefore, AriSEIA and others immediately filed for reconsideration/rehearing, which was granted. After nearly a year of litigation, the ACC upheld the original decision after a number of abnormalities in the execution of the case, such as constraining the evidence to be considered, moving the hearing earlier after APS requested more time for adequate customer notice, an abbreviated briefing scheduled, and then scheduling the vote before the recommendation was even written. AriSEIA demonstrated at the hearing that based on a quantitative analysis of several national expert witnesses, APS had miscalculated the cost of service to solar customers. That miscalculation reflected that solar customers were not paying their fair share, when in fact, the inverse is true. Solar customers pay more than they should and actually subsidize non-solar customers. APS testified that if the ACC eliminated the solar fees, the difference would be $.25 to residential customers. Despite the evidence, the ACC will penalize solar customers several dollars per month and approved an amendment to increase it in APS’ next rate case, which is anticipated to be filed in 2025. “The evidentiary record makes it clear that solar customers are subsidizing non-solar customers and yet APS and the ACC continue to penalize solar customers with unfounded and discriminatory fees,” said Autumn Johnson, executive director of AriSEIA. An appeal to the Arizona Court of Appeals is likely in 2025. The Judge issued a recommended opinion and order (ROO) upholding APS' discriminatory fee on solar customers. The vote by the Commission is on Tuesday, December 17th at 9am. The ROO as drafted fails to resolve many of the underlying issues that prompted a rehearing in the first instance. The ROO is inadequate for the following reasons:
[1] Rehearing ROO at 22:8-9 and 30:20. [2] Id. at 16:7-9. [3] Id. at 39:10-13. [4] Decision No. 75859 at 174:17-19. [5] Rehearing ROO at 23:19-20. [6] Id. at 26:14-15. [7] Id. at 25:15-17. [8] Id. at 22:17-19. [9] Id. at 31:5-6. This is not a “keystone inquiry” and was not challenged by any party. What the Value of Solar decision says on this subject was covered extensively in the hearing. [10] Id. at 32:2-4. [11] Id. at 20:3-4. AriSEIA filed its second and final brief today opposing APS' discriminatory fee on all solar customers. The recommended opinion and order is expected this week, because the ACC has indicated it will be vote on on 12/17.
AriSEIA filed its first post-hearing brief in the APS rate case rehearing. In the original rate case, APS imposed a new fee targeted only at solar customers. AriSEIA asked for a rehearing, which was granted. AriSEIA filed a pre-hearing brief, available here, and also filed its first of two post-hearing briefs. The reply brief is due next week. A vote is scheduled at the Arizona Corporation Commission on 12/17/24.
City of Surprise Community Development 16000 N. Civic Center Plaza Surprise, AZ 85374 RE: City of Surprise Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) Ordinance (Chapter 106, Article X, Sec. 106-10.22) Dear Mr. Abrams and Community Development Staff, The Arizona Solar Energy Industries Association (AriSEIA) is the State’s solar, storage, and electrification trade association. We are active on energy policy issues at every level of government in Arizona. We have previously engaged on the City of Eloy, Mohave County, and Yavapai County solar ordinances. We only became aware of this pending ordinance draft on November 6th and apologize that our comments were not provided to you earlier in your process. We very much hope to continue to be engaged with the City as this process progresses. Our primary comments for the purposes of this letter pertain to the setback from residences and the lack of a waiver provision. We recommend that the City reduce the BESS 1,500’ setback from residential property (B) requirement to 150’. We also recommended adding a waiver provision to the Article. AriSEIA understands and is sensitive to the fact that the McMicken Battery Energy Storage System failure happened in Surprise and that many City Staff were personally involved and impacted. We believe that APS and local governments have learned greatly from that experience.[1] Setbacks The American Planning Association found the national setback average for BESS-specific setbacks used distances of 50-150 feet from property lines.[2] The BESS 1,500’ setback requirement is significantly above BESS setback standards in other jurisdictions and will restrict clean energy development in the City of Surprise.[3] We recommend 150’ based on the Phoenix Regional Standard Operating Procedures Battery Energy Storage Systems policy.[4] The American Clean Power Association (ACP) provides a helpful FAQ that covers questions about battery safety and air emissions.[5] ACP also has a Claims v. Facts one-pager on battery safety, included here as Attachment A. “It should also be noted that the average emissions rates of equivalent masses of plastics exceed those of batteries.”[6] Additionally, sampling was done by the Environmental Health Division and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) after the Moss Landing incident and “no threat to human health or the surrounding environment” was found.[7] All electricity generation and energy storage creates some amount of risk. However, battery incidents represent only 2% of battery installations.[8] Setbacks for batteries should not be more onerous than setbacks for other energy storage devices, such as those that contain fossil fuels. In (B) we agree that any setback required should be from the dwelling unit, not the property line. However, the second half of that section makes it unclear from which we are measuring. What does “residential properties” mean when referencing PAD, R-1, R-2, or R-3? We recommend it measure from the dwelling unit or residence. Waiver Provision The current Ordinance draft covers the primary land use matrix for all zoning districts in Surprise. The Ordinance should include a waiver provision in the event a project proposal conflicts with some component of the Ordinance, but is otherwise an ideal site. The City of Eloy Solar and BESS Ordinance includes such a provision.[9] We recommend adding language such as that included in 21-3-1.39(B) of Eloy’s Ordinance. Other We appreciate the references to NFPA 855. We also appreciate the specificity of the site plan requirements in (G). Finally, it seems this is a discretionary process. It would be helpful to clarify on what basis a permit may be denied even if all requirements are met and whether there is any appeal process or ability to cure. Thank you for your time and consideration and we look forward to continuing to engage with the City on this Ordinance as the stakeholder process progresses. Respectfully, Autumn Johnson Executive Director AriSEIA (520) 240-4757 [email protected] [1] APS, McMicken Battery Energy Storage System Event Technical Analysis and Recommendations, July 18, 2020, available here https://www.aps.com/-/media/APS/APSCOM-PDFs/About/Our-Company/Newsroom/McMickenFinalTechnicalReport.pdf?la=en&hash=37F06DD16761765FD61DDA9AE7C9C4EF. [2] American Planning Association, Zoning Practice, P.10 (Mar. 2024), available here https://planning-org-uploaded-media.s3.amazonaws.com/publication/download_pdf/Zoning-Practice-2024-03.pdf. [3] We have included our Maricopa County economic impact study as Attachment B and our water analysis as Attachment C. [4] City of Phoenix, Battery Energy Storage Systems, April 2023, available here https://www.phoenix.gov/firesite/Documents/205.20A%20Battery%20Energy%20Storage%20Systems.pdf. [5] American Clean Power Association, Energy Storage: Safety FAQ, available here https://cleanpower.org/wp-content/uploads/gateway/2023/07/ACP-ES-Product-4-BESS-Safety-FAQs-230724.pdf. [6] Consolidated Edison and NYSERDA, Considerations for ESS Fire Safety, Feb. 9, 2017, at iii, available here https://www.nyserda.ny.gov/-/media/Project/Nyserda/files/Publications/Research/Energy-Storage/20170118-ConEd-NYSERDA-Battery-Testing-Report.pdf. [7] County of Monterey, Air Quality Testing Information and Process During Moss Landing Fire Incident, Sept. 30, 2022, available here https://www.countyofmonterey.gov/Home/Components/News/News/9345/1336. [8] California Public Utility Commission, Energy Storage Procurement Study: Safety Best Practices, 2023, available here https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/-/media/cpuc-website/divisions/energy-division/documents/energy-storage/2023-05-31_lumen_energy-storage-procurement-study-report-attf.pdf. [9] Eloy Ordinance, 21-3-1.39, available here https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/eloyaz/latest/eloy_az/0-0-0-9381. ![]()
The Judge in the APS rate case rehearing on the grid access charge fees imposed against all APS solar customers asked parties to submit briefs before the hearing on whether or not the fees are just and reasonable and discriminatory. Read AriSEIA's position at the link above. The hearing starts on Monday, October 28th.
AriSEIA filed rebuttal testimony of our expert witness, Kevin Lucas, rebutting the testimony of APS, IBEW, and Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) Staff, all who support opposing new fixed fees on all APS solar customers. Read the full filing above. The hearing commences October 28th.
In a bold move, Arizona Public Service (APS) has moved to entirely exclude the testimony of the Arizona Attorney General and the Arizona Governor's Office from the rate case rehearing on its discriminatory charge on all solar customers. In so doing, APS also seeks to exclude most of the testimony of AriSEIA and Vote Solar. APS argues that any evidence used to create the solar charge is not to be examined in the rehearing, thereby rendering the entire process a sham. AriSEIA, Vote Solar, the Attorney General, individual ratepayers, and the Governor's Office through the consumer advocate (RUCO) have all filed in opposition.
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