Arizona regulators will not recuse themselves from controversial APS case

Correction: An earlier version of this article reported there are allegations that ACC commissioners Tom Forese and Doug Little accepted $3.2 million in "dark money" from Arizona Public Service during their 2014 election campaigns. That is incorrect. Little and Forese ran as "Clean Elections" candidates under Arizona law, meaning they are not allowed to receive money from corporations and independent political action committees. The allegations are raised in a filing with the ACC by former Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman and an attorney representing former ACC commissioners Bill Mundell and Renz Jennings and solar company Sunrun. The filing claims that Forese and Little "were the beneficiaries of $3.2 million in election support that is generally and objectively believed to have come from, on behalf of, or at the direction of, Arizona Public Service (“APS”) or its parent company, Pinnacle West Capital Corporation (“Pinnacle West”)."

Dive Brief:

The Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) announced that none of its commissioners will recuse themselves from making a decision on Arizona Public Service's (APS) request for a $21 grid access fee charge for solar owners, the Arizona Republic reports.
The ACC said it would not consider challenges filed by rooftop solar installer Sunrun, two former commissioners, and solar trade group The Alliance for Solar Choice (TASC) that ask for three commissioners to step aside from the case. All five of ACC's commissioners will be at the hearing on Oct. 20 to decide the fate of APS' proposal.
The challenges targeted three Commissioners and cited allegations of bias against rooftop solar. Two commissioners, Doug Little and Tom Forese, face allegations from former Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman and an attorney representing former ACC commissioners Bill Mundell and Renz Jennings and solar company Sunrun that they "were the beneficiaries of $3.2 million in election support that is generally and objectively believed to have come from, on behalf of, or at the direction of, Arizona Public Service (“APS”) or its parent company, Pinnacle West Capital Corporation (“Pinnacle West”)." The third commissioner, Bob Stump, faces allegations of bias based on critical remarks about rooftop solar that he made to media outlets.

Dive Insight:

None of Arizona's utility regulators plan to recuse themselves from APS' request for a grid access fee, brushing aside allegations of bias against three of the commissioners.

The allegations against Little and Forese are raised in a filing with the ACC by former Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman and an attorney representing former ACC commissioners Bill Mundell and Renz Jennings and solar company Sunrun. The filing claims that Forese and Little "were the beneficiaries of $3.2 million in election support that is generally and objectively believed to have come from, on behalf of, or at the direction of, Arizona Public Service (“APS”) or its parent company, Pinnacle West Capital Corporation (“Pinnacle West”)."

Tom Forese and Doug Little, both Republicans, denied having bias or prejudgment in the APS fee request case.

"I have duly considered the allegations and the entire record and I conclude that I have acted fairly, impartially and without bias in all aspects of this proceeding," Little wrote to the Arizona Republic. "I am not disqualified from decision-making by any conflict of interest because none exists.”

APS has neither denied nor confirmed any direct or indirect involvement in Little and Forese's campaigns last year, calling the controversy a "non-stop propaganda war" by national solar interests bent on discrediting the utility. However, APS filed a request to withdraw its proposal grid access fee last week in exchange for a full cost-of-service analysis. The filing reprimanded TASC and some solar advocates for their attempts to "discredit" the ACC. APS' request for a cost-of-service study garnered opposition from TASC, which claimed the analysis would fail to evaluate the full costs and benefits of solar.