Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship (CRS), a national organization with 24,000 members, including 1,200 in Arizona, has launched a bold billboard campaign in the Phoenix area to raise public awareness about the Arizona Corporation Commission’s (ACC) role in the state’s escalating gas and electric bills.

“The problem we see is that the commission has become totally unresponsive to ratepayer concerns, rubberstamping every utility rate hike request that comes before it. Arizona utility customers need to know that it’s the ACC that is responsible for their high energy bills,” said CRS president David Jenkins.

This campaign follows Jenkins’ recent op-ed in the Arizona Capital Times entitled “Rename Utility Commission Rate Hikes ‘R’ Us.” In it he underscores the alarming trend of rate increases granted to Arizona Public Service (APS), Southwest Gas (SWG), and Tucson Electric Power (TEP).

Notably, SWG’s 7.6% price hike on its Arizona gas customers resulted in a staggering $61.7 million windfall that, according to the company, was the largest revenue increase in SWG history.

In addition to granting multiple rate hikes to the utilities it regulates, the ACC has consistently acted against consumer interests in other areas, such as its efforts to slash the already meager compensation rooftop solar customers get for electricity returned to the grid.

“Once upon a time, ACC commissioners, regardless of party affiliation, looked upon rate increases proposed by utilities with a healthy dose of skepticism. Not anymore, they’re approving one rate hike after another, even as these companies rake in record revenue and report increasing profits. They are literally bleeding Arizona ratepayers dry,” Jenkins added.

This first phase of the campaign employs four billboards and multiple designs. The messages will run for four weeks on major routes into Phoenix, I-10, 7th Ave., and SR 202 (South Mountain Freeway).

“Because monopoly utilities are exempt from free market competition, the ACC is the public’s only possible firewall against being fleeced by excessive rate hikes. So, when that agency appears to put utility profits above what’s reasonable and fair to ratepayers, we need to shine a spotlight on that,” said Jenkins.

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