by admin | Dec 7, 2023 | News and Updates, Regulatory
A History of Harmful Mandates
Arizonans have faced repeated attempts over the last six years by various interest groups to impose costly Green New Deal energy mandates on utility ratepayers. In 2018, liberal billionaire Tom Steyer bankrolled a statewide ballot measure to require utilities to obtain 50% of their energy from renewable sources by 2030. Voters realized the danger of this California-style energy plan and rejected it by a 2 to 1 margin.
Immediately after the Steyer initiative failed at the ballot, the Arizona Corporation Commission began considering their own green energy mandate to completely ban fossil fuel generation in Arizona by 2050. The Commission’s plan was even more radical than the energy initiative, and this time the mandate was being pushed by our regulated utilities, not far left radicals. This caught most observers by surprise—the utilities were among the opponents of the Steyer initiative, and now they were cheerleading energy mandates.
Why the change of heart by our monopoly utility providers? The reason is simple—they knew that if the Commission adopted official policy requiring Green New Deal mandates, they would be guaranteed full cost recovery from their captive ratepayers. After fierce opposition from ratepayers and organizations like the Free Enterprise Club, this proposed mandate was rejected by the Commission in early 2022.
Unfortunately, this victory for ratepayers was short lived. Almost immediately after the Commission voted to reject costly energy mandates, the utilities announced that they would be implementing their clean energy agenda anyway, irrespective of what their captive ratepayers thought about it. This didn’t come as a total surprise, considering these utilities have gone all-in on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) and the accompanying “Net Zero” commitments to ban fossil fuels in their SEC filings to shareholders, which our organization began advocating against at the Commission earlier this year.
We told the Commission that if the utilities are allowed to operate under ESG, every downstream policy decision would be shaped by it—ultimately resulting in massive ESG rate hikes for Arizona ratepayers. Based on the energy resource plans submitted by the utilities last month, it appears our predictions have been proven correct.
ESG Resource Plans
Every three years, the major monopoly utilities (APS, TEP, and UNS) are required to submit an Integrated Resource Plan (resource plan) to the Commission. These resource plans must project the expected load (demand from customers) over the next fifteen years and then outline how the utility plans to meet it – whether that is with coal, nuclear, natural gas, solar, wind, or other sources.
Unsurprisingly, the submitted plans are ESG plans through and through with radical Net Zero commitments that completely retire coal generation, add very little new natural gas, and instead rely almost entirely on unreliable and costly solar, wind, and battery storage. In TEP’s submitted plan, they begin by outlining their commitment to going Net Zero by 2050 and outline a plan for a ratepayer-funded “Net Zero Hero” campaign to push Arizonans to use less energy. The APS plan is the same, because they both begin with the same primary goal: going “green.”
Renewable Mandates Cost Ratepayers Billions
One problem (among many) is that, if approved by the Commission, these plans will cost Arizona ratepayers billions. The Commission knows this. The 2006 15% renewable mandate has cost ratepayers over $1 billion to date and their own 2021 study estimated going Net Zero by 2050 would cost ratepayers $6 billion. The utilities know this too. In 2018, they submitted ballot arguments opposing Prop 127 arguing that going renewable would cost the average ratepayer $1,250 annually.
Even more recently, the Club published a paper authored by economist Stephen Moore, finding that ratepayers in states with “renewable” energy mandates (like the goals our utilities have voluntarily committed themselves to) paid 44% more for electricity last year than those who live in states without any mandates. Further, going “Net Zero” by 2050 would increase utility costs by 78% – nearly doubling utility bills for Arizonans.
It’s clear that climate commitments cost billions, and that’s why the federal government, on behalf of the green energy lobby, is pouring trillions of dollars in tax credits to subsidize it – on their own they cannot compete. Even with those subsidies, going “green” will increase costs of electricity and result in blackouts.
The Plans are Irredeemably Wedded to ESG
Why would the utilities choose this path? Simple: in order to maintain a good ESG score with international banks and investors who have no interest in the reliability of Arizona’s grid, they have to. In fact, even the modeling software they use to craft their plans is now owned by Blackstone and Vista Equity Partners, two of the largest private equity firms who are at the tip of the spear pushing ESG. Even worse, the parent companies of our utilities have tied executive compensation to meeting “renewable” energy goals. In other words, the profits of out of state executives substantially increase if the utilities go Net Zero.
These plans will determine the direction of Arizona’s energy future – whether we follow the path of California with sky high rates and rolling blackouts, or we ensure affordable, reliable, and plentiful energy into the future. These ESG plans push us down the former, and that’s why the Commission must reject them outright to protect ratepayers and ensure just and reasonable rates.
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Arizona needs to have a unified voice promoting economic freedom and prosperity, and the Free Enterprise Club is committed to making that happen. But we can’t do it alone. We need YOU!
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by admin | Nov 28, 2023 | Elections, News and Updates
We’re less than a year away from our next election, and if Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes is serious about doing his job, his primary focus should be on ensuring a process where it is easy to vote and hard to cheat. Instead, Fontes has been attempting to implement an Elections Procedures Manual (EPM) that is ripe with unlawful provisions all while ignoring a giant (and growing) elephant in the room.
In its last two quarterly reports to the Arizona state legislature, the Secretary of State’s office reported that over 78,000 individuals have been identified on our state’s voter rolls as noncitizens or nonresidents. This number includes:
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- Over 53,200 individuals who were reported to have been issued a driver’s license or the equivalent of an Arizona nonoperating license ID in another state.
- Over 1,300 individuals who admitted to not being a U.S. citizen on a jury questionnaire.
- Over 23,600 individuals who admitted to not being a resident of a county on a jury questionnaire.
These numbers should be great cause for alarm—especially when you consider how close some of our state’s races were in 2022—and these individuals should be immediately removed from our state’s voter rolls. So, what did Fontes do in response to this news? Nothing. That’s right. The Secretary of State’s office simply disclosed that a process for sending notices to these individuals, placing their voter registrations on inactive status, or canceling their voter registrations was “in development.”
How convenient.
But Fontes can’t hide for long. The fact is that these voter roll issues came to light because of two bills backed by the Free Enterprise Club and signed into law by then-Governor Ducey last year: HB 2492 and HB 2243. HB 2492 is a commonsense law that cracks down on state voter registration applications that do not include proof of citizenship. HB 2243 ensures regular voter list maintenance and helped uncover these most recent issues due to provisions in the bill that:
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- Require the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) to furnish a list of people who have been issued a driver’s license in another state to the Secretary of State.
- Direct the Secretary of State to report the number from ADOT (above) to the state legislature at the end of each quarter.
- Direct the Secretary of State to report to the state legislature at the end of each quarter the number of people who have stated on a jury questionnaire that they are not U.S. citizens or not residents of the county.
With these provisions in mind, it’s clear that the number of noncitizens and nonresidents on our state’s voter rolls will continue to grow after each quarterly report is provided. That’s why it is essential to address these issues immediately. But the Left has proven time and time again that they will fight against every legitimate election reform that comes from conservatives. So, the Biden administration and a consortium of liberal organizations filed a lawsuit against HB 2492 and HB 2243. They are terrified of these commonsense laws and want to prevent them from taking effect by wrapping them up in litigation. It’s just another example of how the Left hates any form of true election integrity. And they will do whatever it takes to prevent it—including wasting time and your taxpayer dollars in court.
Help Protect Freedom in Arizona by Joining Our Grassroots Network
Arizona needs to have a unified voice promoting economic freedom and prosperity, and the Free Enterprise Club is committed to making that happen. But we can’t do it alone. We need YOU!
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by admin | Nov 17, 2023 | News and Updates, Tax
If you look up “failure” in the dictionary, it’s probably only a matter of time until you start seeing images of Katie Hobbs’ time as Governor of Arizona. Hobbs kicked off her reign back in January and immediately got off to a rocky start. After being in office for just over a month, Hobbs had her inauguration fund called into question, had her pick to lead the Arizona Democratic Party rejected, and was booed at the 16th Hole of the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
If that wasn’t enough, Hobbs’ nominations for agency directors have been a complete disaster. Her pick to lead the Department of Health Services, Dr. Theresa Cullen, was rejected for her COVID imperialism. Her nominee for Housing Director was rejected due to a history of plagiarism. And she was forced to withdraw her nominee for Arizona Registrar of Contractors, former Democratic State Senator Martín Quezada, over his alliance with antisemitic extremism. It’s no wonder why Hobbs was listed as one of the least popular governors in the nation.
That’s probably why Hobbs is willing to do anything she can to get some good publicity, but her latest stunt was another misfire…and broke the law.
At the end of October, Hobbs tweeted out a message patting herself on the back for putting money back in the pockets of many Arizona families. Her administration then followed that up with a letter from the Arizona Department of Revenue (ADOR) that directed families who would be receiving the tax rebate to the Governor’s website.
But there were a couple of problems.
The Arizona Families Tax Rebate Program was spearheaded by a group of Republican lawmakers known as the Arizona Freedom Caucus, and Hobbs wanted no part of it as it made its way through the legislature. On top of that, when SB1734 was passed and eventually signed by Hobbs, the bill included a line stating that no letter relating to the rebate should be sent from the Governor’s office, be sent on the Governor’s letterhead, or reference the Governor’s office.
Whoops…maybe Hobbs should use that private school education she received to actually read the bills she signs. Or maybe she’s just another Democrat opportunist looking to take credit for the work of Republicans.
The fact of the matter is that, before becoming Governor, Katie Hobbs had a history of opposing tax cuts for families while making it a habit to support multiple tax hikes. And the initial budget plan she released back in January was one big liberal wish list that would’ve required more money out of the pockets of Arizona taxpayers. But thankfully, the Republican-led legislature recognized that after three years of Democrat control of the federal government, Arizona families needed relief from the rising cost of gas, groceries, housing, and energy. So, at a time when the government has been flush with cash, they got to work on a structurally balanced budget that returns nearly $300 million to hardworking taxpayers.
It’s a great idea, which is probably why Katie Hobbs wants to take credit for it. But instead, she chose to break the law—hanging ADOR Director Robert Woods out to dry and leaving him potentially liable for $2 million in illegally spent funds, a 20 percent penalty, court costs, and attorneys’ fees. While Hobbs did eventually cave by editing the remaining tax rebate letters after Senator Warren Petersen and House Speaker Ben Toma sent her a cease-and-desist letter, the damage had already been done. And it’s just another failure in a year that’s been filled with them for Arizona’s Democrat Governor.
Help Protect Freedom in Arizona by Joining Our Grassroots Network
Arizona needs to have a unified voice promoting economic freedom and prosperity, and the Free Enterprise Club is committed to making that happen. But we can’t do it alone. We need YOU!
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by admin | Nov 10, 2023 | Misc, News and Updates
Ozone levels in Maricopa County are lower today than they were 20 years ago. And the reality is that most of the ozone currently in the region is either due to natural events or coming from China. But you won’t hear facts like that from the Left. Instead, they’d rather hatch a scheme to enforce their climate change agenda on the American people, and one of their biggest targets in the past year has been Arizona. Now, after failing to convince our state to ban gas cars and gas stoves, the Sierra Club is attempting to use the courts to force this agenda upon us.
An Impossible Standard
Much of this began in September 2022 when the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reclassified Maricopa County as a moderate nonattainment area of ozone limits under the Clean Air Act. This basically means that, according to the EPA, Maricopa County’s ozone levels are too high and therefore our state—including its citizens, motorists, and businesses—must be forced to adopt ozone control measures. Failure to comply with these measures could mean fines, penalties, or the withholding of federal transportation dollars for Arizona.
Of course, what they won’t tell you is that the main reason our ozone levels are too high isn’t because there are more cars on the road or Arizonans like trying new recipes on their gas stoves. The main reason our ozone levels are too high is because the federal government moved the goal posts back in 2015 when the EPA dropped its acceptable ozone levels from 75ppb to 70ppb.
To the average person, that may not seem like a big deal, but it is. In fact, in order to achieve the EPA’s standard by the August 3, 2024 deadline, Arizona would need to cut emissions by 50 percent. This is not only impossible, it’s absurd. It took our state over 23 years to reduce ozone pollution by 12.5 percent. There’s absolutely no way we could cut it by 50 percent in a year! But since the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) has become another puppet for the Left’s climate agenda, its plan fell right in line with its EPA masters.
Stopping MAG’s Green New Deal Plan
Along with a host of regulations on various business activities, MAG’s Green New Deal Implementation plan was filled with restrictions that would make AOC blush. It included:
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- Eliminating gas-powered cars.
- Eliminating gas appliances.
- Limits on things like lawn equipment, motorized boating, and water heaters.
- Regulations on the commercial trucking industry that we rely on for supplies and goods.
Arizona could implement every one of these destructive measures, and we still wouldn’t come close to achieving the EPA’s ozone standard—especially by that deadline. In the meantime, our state would have been forced to suffer billions of dollars in economic damage all while watching our quality of life go down the tubes.
That’s why the Free Enterprise Club spent several months fighting back against MAG’s plan. And that proved to be a success. In June of this year, MAG abandoned its plan and instead sent a letter to the EPA that essentially adopted our position. It mentioned the challenges related to timing, the overwhelming contribution of ozone from outside sources, and the economic consequences we would face with such harsh ozone regulations. These are reasonable arguments that should be enough for the EPA to reconsider its standards, but the response from the Left was…a lawsuit.
The Sierra Club Sues to Force Arizona to Achieve the Impossible
In October, the liberal non-profit Sierra Club decided to sue the Biden administration to increase regulatory oversight of several states, including Arizona. And their goal is clear. They either want to get a liberal judge to force our state to implement California-style control measures, or they want to collude with the EPA to do a “sue and settle” and enter into a consent decree that does the same.
But what the Sierra Club intentionally ignores is that you could take all 4 million cars off the road in Maricopa County, and Arizona still couldn’t achieve the EPA’s impossible standards. Just look at what happened in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ozone levels increased from 79ppb to 87ppb even though we saw a dramatic decrease in cars on our roads.
You would think that would be enough to recognize that these measures won’t work. Or maybe, just maybe…the Sierra Club’s agenda isn’t really about ozone in the first place. That’s why the Club plans to fight back against this lawsuit and any other way that the Sierra Club is trying to force the Green New Deal on our state. The measures they are pushing are coercive, punitive, and likely illegal. And the people of Arizona shouldn’t have to sacrifice their freedoms so the Left can turn us into another California.
Help Protect Freedom in Arizona by Joining Our Grassroots Network
Arizona needs to have a unified voice promoting economic freedom and prosperity, and the Free Enterprise Club is committed to making that happen. But we can’t do it alone. We need YOU!
Join our FREE Grassroots Action List to stay up to date on the latest battles against big government and how YOU can help influence crucial bills at the Arizona State Legislature.
by admin | Nov 9, 2023 | News and Updates, Regulatory
For several years, Arizonans have faced a threat of radical renewable energy mandates being imposed on our grid. In 2018, the voters overwhelmingly rejected a measure that would have required utilities to generate 50% of their energy with “renewables” by 2030. Then, in 2021, the Arizona Corporation Commission considered, and rejected, a 100% renewable mandate completely banning fossil fuel generation by 2050. But now, the utilities have voluntarily committed themselves to these goals, known as “Net Zero by 2050”, under the broader requirements of their Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) commitments.
But a new study commissioned by the Arizona Free Enterprise Club, and authored by esteemed economist Stephen Moore, makes clear the high cost of pursuing ESG. In the study, Moore compares the 10 states with the highest cost for electricity to the 10 with the lowest. He finds that nine of the 10 costliest states have renewable energy mandates. Conversely, his paper finds that 7 of the ten cheapest states have no mandates or mandates that amount to less than 20% renewable energy.
This means, according to the study, that residents in states with mandates have, over the last decade, paid 36.4% more for electricity than those who live in states with no mandates which, for many families, means thousands of dollars a year. In 2022 alone, residents living in states with high “renewable” mandates paid 44% more than those living in states with no mandates. Given this, Moore points to a recent study that estimates that these ESG commitments will increase costs for ratepayers 78% by 2050.
The truth is that the environmental goals required by ESG will make our energy unaffordable and unreliable. Two years ago, the Commission’s own independent cost analysis of renewable mandates projected a $6 billion cost to ratepayers. Moore’s study builds on this, showing the future Arizona ratepayers can expect based on the actual experience of other states who have pursued ESG environmental goals: far higher costs.
This new study comes as the Club, hundreds of ratepayers, and former Corporation Commissioner Justin Olson have been asking the ACC to ban ESG, and warning that without a prohibition, every downstream decision, including future rate hikes and resource plans, will be shaped by it.
Just last week, the monopoly utilities submitted new Integrated Resource Plans (IRP) which determine the type of energy production they will build for the next decade and a half. Considering their public commitment to ESG, it’s no surprise that these plans all work toward Net Zero by 2050, retiring coal generation by 2031 completely, and relying almost entirely on solar, wind, and batteries with little to no new natural gas. Based on Moore’s new study, these plans will inevitably cost ratepayers billions, leading to a likely doubling of utility bills.
Read the full paper by Stephen Moore here.
Help Protect Freedom in Arizona by Joining Our Grassroots Network
Arizona needs to have a unified voice promoting economic freedom and prosperity, and the Free Enterprise Club is committed to making that happen. But we can’t do it alone. We need YOU!
Join our FREE Grassroots Action List to stay up to date on the latest battles against big government and how YOU can help influence crucial bills at the Arizona State Legislature.
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