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Sunday, April 27, 2025
Learn & Share: Help Shape Tucson’s Clean Energy Future
Saturday, April 26, 2025
Energy customers will do the heavy lifting if HB2679 passes....... Tell your Legislator NO WAY!
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| Arizona energy customer |
While there is a lot that is extremely disturbing happening at the Arizona Legislature, we want to recognize a few bright spots. The legislature finally agreed to fund programs for developmentally disabled people and the Governor signed the bill. Also, the Governor vetoed a slew of bad legislation, including a harmful immigration measure and four bad energy bills. Late last week, Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed several bills that we advocated against: SB1309, HB2527, HB2774, and HB2788, all bills that would have implemented harmful energy policies. Please thank the Governor for vetoing these bills.
Several other bills that we advocated against are still being heard at our state legislature. I generally don't repost actions we already sent out. But there is a bill that Sandy Bahr calls "the most harmful energy bill of the session" that will go to the Senate Floor this week. Please use the Sierra Club's form to ask your Senator to vote NO on HB2679. Unfortunately, it currently has bipartisan support. HB2679 will help keep dirty coal plants running longer at the expense of ratepayers, our health, and future generations. You can read more about the bill in this op-ed by Autumn Johnson.
UPDATE APRIL 29, 2025
Dmocratic State Senators, joined by a former corporation commissioners and environmental policy experts, gathered to highlight the dangers of HB 2679 (power; public utilities; UCC; securities). HB2679 shifts from historical uses of securitization by expanding how it can be used by Arizona utilities with no assurance of sufficient oversight and with serious implications for local communities.
Senator Lauren Kuby (LD8) stated, “The Arizona Corporation Commission, the Attorney General, grid experts, energy-efficiency experts, environmental and consumer groups are united in opposing this bill. It forces the public, not the shareholders to pick up the tab for bad investments. It is written by and for utilities and prioritizes utility profit over consumer protection. Let us work toward solutions that protect ratepayers, promote clean-energy investment, and ensure financial accountability. Let's slow down this rushed process, bring it before stakeholders and ratepayers in an ACC-led process and then come back to the Legislature with a more robust plan, because Arizonans deserve energy policies that are transparent, fair, and accountable.
Sandra Kennedy, former corporation commissioner and current SRP Board Member, provided comments in her personal capacity, “Today, I want to highlight the serious concerns surrounding House Bill 2679. This bill would allow utility companies to move their bad debts off their books through a financial tool called securitization — essentially forcing ratepayers to pay off their mistakes through bonds, with no real accountability. While securitization can sound harmless, in this case it acts more like a Ponzi scheme: older debts are paid off with new charges, yet locking ratepayers into decades of payments without addressing the root causes of the debt while guaranteeing profits for the utility companies and Wall Street investors and leaving the distressed ratepayers…to pick up the tab. We cannot accept financial shell games that reward corporate mismanagement while shifting the burden onto our hardworking families. House Bill 2679 is wrong for our ratepayers and it’s wrong for our future.”
Robert Burns, former corporation commissioner, added, “House Bill 2679 has the potential to negatively impact millions of Arizona ratepayers and deserves a thorough evaluation not the fast-track treatment it has received in the legislature. A delay of a few months seems to be a reasonable price to pay to ensure that the millions of rate payers in Arizona are protected...The framers realized that regulated monopolies operate with a special privilege, a captured clientele and no competition. The good intentions of Arizona utilities, may not always also benefit the ratepayers and a bill of this size fast tracked through the legislative process puts millions of Arizona utility customers at possible risk.”
Senate Minority Leader Priya Sundareshan (LD18) concluded, “Securitization can be an important tool in the energy transition, if it’s done correctly. However, this bill does not yet contain the necessary safeguards. In the Senate Natural Resources Committee, Democrats voted no and explained our concerns including the lack of a transparent stakeholder process, lack of just transition support for affected communities, and above all the failure to limit this tool only to assets that are retiring. We would unabashedly support this bill if it was limited to retiring assets, because this is the critical component that makes securitization a powerful tool to facilitate the closing of polluting coal-fired power plants and mitigate the worst effects of climate change. But the utilities have rejected my amendment to do so – precisely because APS wants to sell their Four Corners coal-fired power plant and allow it to remain in operation while saddling the purchaser with a bad asset. Our state government does not need to step in to help our utilities shuffle their bad debts onto less sophisticated purchasers.”
While unable to attend the press conference in-person, the following written comments were provided to add further context on HB2679:
Senator Theresa Hatathlie (LD6) added, “HB2679 is concerning in its expansive scope, it is described as more extensive than any other securitization legislation, raising red flags about potential unintended consequences. This bill will adversely impact ratepayers when this legislation removes the ACC’s decision-making responsibility to set guard rails to cap rates for consumer protection; it will also provide utilities a blank check as they would have no set parameters to continue securing finances for their use. Lastly and most importantly, this initiative did not provide our constituents an opportunity to have a say in its impact to tribal communities as it relates to utilities located on tribal lands. This represents the long practice of using tribal lands as sacrificing grounds to exploit and monetize native resources for capitalistic gains and greed. This needs to stop! We continue to suffer and mourn the effects of the federal government’s desecration of our homelands. These actions have brought to our community's generational harm, such as cancer clusters, birth defects, drinking water contamination, air pollutants, and rare illnesses resulting in premature deaths, and adverse health impacts. Overall, these entities create existential harm to certain Arizona populations some of which live in homes that do not have services that are not provided by quasigovernmental entities. These entities do not provide long-term sustainable community benefits that outlive the life of utilities. An example of reality, SRP is long gone yet there are still homes that exist near its vacant site and many still do not have electricity. This is only scratching the surface of why I do not support HB2679.”
Nicole Horseherder, Executive Director of Tó Nizhóní Ání, added, “As a Navajo Organization with over 25 years experience, working in the environmental justice and economic justice capacity, Tó Nizhóní Ání “Sacred Water Speaks” (TNA) urges legislators to vote no on HB2679.
When developed and executed correctly, securitization can be of great benefit to utility ratepayers through reduced costs. It can set communities facing the closure of utility projects towards replacement power that is less expensive and cleaner. It can be an opportunity for reinvestment in the host community towards more efficient replacement power and therefore continuing jobs, new economic opportunities, job training in a new energy field and so on. It’s an opportunity to move towards investments that are better for the community. However, HB2679 does not provide assurance that utility consumers will receive tangible, financial benefits.
Securitization should not result in the abandonment of aging projects in rural and tribal communities but instead needs proper reclamation and clean up provisions. Utilities should have to retire an asset to securitize it. The bill as written allows them to sell, transfer a coal plant to someone else and securitize it, even if the plant continues to operate. This will allow utilities to shirk their responsibilities and continue to treat tribal lands as dumping grounds...A Vote of No on HB2679 is a yes vote for the people, beautiful Arizona and the planet.”
Dmocratic State Senators, joined by a former corporation commissioners and environmental policy experts, gathered to highlight the dangers of HB 2679 (power; public utilities; UCC; securities). HB2679 shifts from historical uses of securitization by expanding how it can be used by Arizona utilities with no assurance of sufficient oversight and with serious implications for local communities.
Senator Lauren Kuby (LD8) stated, “The Arizona Corporation Commission, the Attorney General, grid experts, energy-efficiency experts, environmental and consumer groups are united in opposing this bill. It forces the public, not the shareholders to pick up the tab for bad investments. It is written by and for utilities and prioritizes utility profit over consumer protection. Let us work toward solutions that protect ratepayers, promote clean-energy investment, and ensure financial accountability. Let's slow down this rushed process, bring it before stakeholders and ratepayers in an ACC-led process and then come back to the Legislature with a more robust plan, because Arizonans deserve energy policies that are transparent, fair, and accountable.
Sandra Kennedy, former corporation commissioner and current SRP Board Member, provided comments in her personal capacity, “Today, I want to highlight the serious concerns surrounding House Bill 2679. This bill would allow utility companies to move their bad debts off their books through a financial tool called securitization — essentially forcing ratepayers to pay off their mistakes through bonds, with no real accountability. While securitization can sound harmless, in this case it acts more like a Ponzi scheme: older debts are paid off with new charges, yet locking ratepayers into decades of payments without addressing the root causes of the debt while guaranteeing profits for the utility companies and Wall Street investors and leaving the distressed ratepayers…to pick up the tab. We cannot accept financial shell games that reward corporate mismanagement while shifting the burden onto our hardworking families. House Bill 2679 is wrong for our ratepayers and it’s wrong for our future.”
Robert Burns, former corporation commissioner, added, “House Bill 2679 has the potential to negatively impact millions of Arizona ratepayers and deserves a thorough evaluation not the fast-track treatment it has received in the legislature. A delay of a few months seems to be a reasonable price to pay to ensure that the millions of rate payers in Arizona are protected...The framers realized that regulated monopolies operate with a special privilege, a captured clientele and no competition. The good intentions of Arizona utilities, may not always also benefit the ratepayers and a bill of this size fast tracked through the legislative process puts millions of Arizona utility customers at possible risk.”
Senate Minority Leader Priya Sundareshan (LD18) concluded, “Securitization can be an important tool in the energy transition, if it’s done correctly. However, this bill does not yet contain the necessary safeguards. In the Senate Natural Resources Committee, Democrats voted no and explained our concerns including the lack of a transparent stakeholder process, lack of just transition support for affected communities, and above all the failure to limit this tool only to assets that are retiring. We would unabashedly support this bill if it was limited to retiring assets, because this is the critical component that makes securitization a powerful tool to facilitate the closing of polluting coal-fired power plants and mitigate the worst effects of climate change. But the utilities have rejected my amendment to do so – precisely because APS wants to sell their Four Corners coal-fired power plant and allow it to remain in operation while saddling the purchaser with a bad asset. Our state government does not need to step in to help our utilities shuffle their bad debts onto less sophisticated purchasers.”
While unable to attend the press conference in-person, the following written comments were provided to add further context on HB2679:
Senator Theresa Hatathlie (LD6) added, “HB2679 is concerning in its expansive scope, it is described as more extensive than any other securitization legislation, raising red flags about potential unintended consequences. This bill will adversely impact ratepayers when this legislation removes the ACC’s decision-making responsibility to set guard rails to cap rates for consumer protection; it will also provide utilities a blank check as they would have no set parameters to continue securing finances for their use. Lastly and most importantly, this initiative did not provide our constituents an opportunity to have a say in its impact to tribal communities as it relates to utilities located on tribal lands. This represents the long practice of using tribal lands as sacrificing grounds to exploit and monetize native resources for capitalistic gains and greed. This needs to stop! We continue to suffer and mourn the effects of the federal government’s desecration of our homelands. These actions have brought to our community's generational harm, such as cancer clusters, birth defects, drinking water contamination, air pollutants, and rare illnesses resulting in premature deaths, and adverse health impacts. Overall, these entities create existential harm to certain Arizona populations some of which live in homes that do not have services that are not provided by quasigovernmental entities. These entities do not provide long-term sustainable community benefits that outlive the life of utilities. An example of reality, SRP is long gone yet there are still homes that exist near its vacant site and many still do not have electricity. This is only scratching the surface of why I do not support HB2679.”
Nicole Horseherder, Executive Director of Tó Nizhóní Ání, added, “As a Navajo Organization with over 25 years experience, working in the environmental justice and economic justice capacity, Tó Nizhóní Ání “Sacred Water Speaks” (TNA) urges legislators to vote no on HB2679.
When developed and executed correctly, securitization can be of great benefit to utility ratepayers through reduced costs. It can set communities facing the closure of utility projects towards replacement power that is less expensive and cleaner. It can be an opportunity for reinvestment in the host community towards more efficient replacement power and therefore continuing jobs, new economic opportunities, job training in a new energy field and so on. It’s an opportunity to move towards investments that are better for the community. However, HB2679 does not provide assurance that utility consumers will receive tangible, financial benefits.
Securitization should not result in the abandonment of aging projects in rural and tribal communities but instead needs proper reclamation and clean up provisions. Utilities should have to retire an asset to securitize it. The bill as written allows them to sell, transfer a coal plant to someone else and securitize it, even if the plant continues to operate. This will allow utilities to shirk their responsibilities and continue to treat tribal lands as dumping grounds...A Vote of No on HB2679 is a yes vote for the people, beautiful Arizona and the planet.”
Thursday, April 24, 2025
Rally for the Santa Ritas: 2:00pm to 4:00pm Saturday, May 3rd at the Tucson Federal Building
Join concerned residents from around the region for a Rally for the Santa Ritas on Saturday, May 3, 2025, from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM at the Tucson Federal Building, 300 W Congress St. This critical event will bring together residents, environmental advocates, and regional leaders in a powerful demonstration of opposition to the proposed Copper World mining project and the broader threats posed by the unchecked power of the mining industry in Arizona.
Key attendees and speakers include the following:
- Adelita Grijalva, former Pima County Supervisor
- Regina Romero, Mayor of Tucson
- Kevin Dahl, City of Tucson Councilmember
- Russ McSpadden, Center for Biological Diversity
- Rob Peters, Save the Scenic Santa Ritas
Event organizers: Save the Scenic Santa Ritas, Center for Biological Diversity, Great Old Broads for the Wilderness, Living Desert Alliance, and the Corona de Tucson Preservation Alliance.
Sunday, April 20, 2025
Urge Gov. Hobbs to Veto Bad Energy Bills
Happy Earth Day!
I think we all could use some good news, don't you? Governor Hobbs has vetoed seven bad water bills that we advocated against, all sponsored by Representative Gail Griffin. In her veto message, the Governor said, "These bills either weaken rural groundwater protections or make pointless, trivial statutory changes that demean the rural Arizonans who have been asking the Legislature for years to institute meaningful rural groundwater management measures."
Please take a moment to thank Governor Hobbs for her veto of these seven bad water bills (by using this handy form from the Sierra Club.)
Unfortunately, there are three harmful energy bills on the Governor's desk that should be vetoed: HB2527, HB2774, and HB2788. Please, use the Sierra Club form to send her a message. Editing the insert to be in your own words would make it even more impactful.
HB2527 corporation commission; electricity; reliability; management prohibits the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) from authorizing a power plant retirement unless there is a new plant with equal or greater power. It requires that the ACC prioritize thermal (gas, coal, or nuclear) replacement resources for power plant retirements and increase them by 5% by 2030. This would disadvantage renewable resources – solar and wind – as they are not considered dispatchable per the bill definition. HB2527 also includes language to define solar and wind as not reliable as they are intermittent – intermittent and reliable are two different things and should not be conflated as they are in the bill.
HB2774 NOW: small modular reactors; co-location (Carbone) preempts 13 of the 15 counties in Arizona – all except Maricopa and Pima counties – from regulating the location of small modular nuclear reactors if they are co-located with a large industrial electricity user, which in many cases would be data centers. Note that many data centers use significant amounts of water
HB2774 also exempts small modular nuclear reactors from the requirements for a certificate of environmental compatibility (CEC) if they are being co-located with a big electricity user, aka data centers, and when they are replacing a gas or coal plant or other thermal plant. The potential environmental impacts vary between different electricity generating resources and should be evaluated and mitigated in the CEC process.
HB2788 utility; resource plan; commission review (Olson). This bill codifies resource planning provisions for utilities regulated by the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC). Currently, the provisions for resource planning are in rules and can be changed by the ACC to adjust and adapt to emerging needs. This bill will remove flexibility and could result in limiting public involvement in the resource planning process.
Finally, ask your senator to oppose HB2679! It will help advance the agenda to keep dirty coal plants running longer at the expense of ratepayers, our health, and future generations. Send a message this week. Senators need to hear from you!
Find out who your senator is by using this link:
https://www.azleg.gov/findmylegislator/
Find your senator's phone number here.
https://www.azleg.gov/findmylegislator/
Find your senator's phone number here.
Saturday, April 12, 2025
Urge your AZ Reps to Oppose Harmful Power Plant, Transportation & Water Bills
Heads up for a bunch of veto requests coming next week and throughout the rest of April. There are numerous bills that have passed out of one house or the other along party lines and that are likely to get voted out and land on the Governor's desk. They include bills to weaken the limited groundwater protection we have, bills to give giant gifts to electric utilities and keep coal plants running longer -- or require coal to be replaced by gas, and numerous bills to make voting more difficult or to limit citizen ballot measures.
The Sierra Club has provided handy forms you can fill out to urge your legislators to vote against a bill coming up for a vote. When using these forms, please edit the pre-filled text to reflect your own viewpoint. The following bills are all coming up for floor votes this week.
There are also two harmful transportation bills that are making their way through the Arizona Legislature. SB1086 and SB1092 have already passed out of the Senate along party lines and are about to go to a vote in the House. Please take action and let your representatives know you oppose both bills.
SB1086 transportation system performance; ADOT prohibits the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) from considering or adopting a motor vehicle travel mile reduction target or any other demand management policy or project to reduce traffic. SB1086 limits ADOT's authority to consider integration of roads and vehicles with other forms of transportation, including rail, transit, bicycles, and pedestrians. It states that ADOT must weight ridership on each route for transit so it is no lower than 70 percent of the system average, which could force cities to significantly reduce the number of transit routes. SB1086 is short-sighted and harmful and should be rejected.
SB1538 corporation commission; non-thermal generating unit (Carroll: Gowan, Shamp, et al) is teed up to come to a vote in the House as well. It requires wind and solar to undergo additional reviews and changes the trigger for the need to get a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility (CEC) from 100 to 200 megawatts (MW). With the 200 MW trigger, most gas plants would no longer need a CEC, allowing for siting of polluting power plants right next to communities without any opportunity for further analysis or for the community to seek conditions to limit the impact.
There are also two harmful transportation bills that are making their way through the Arizona Legislature. SB1086 and SB1092 have already passed out of the Senate along party lines and are about to go to a vote in the House. Please take action and let your representatives know you oppose both bills.
SB1086 transportation system performance; ADOT prohibits the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) from considering or adopting a motor vehicle travel mile reduction target or any other demand management policy or project to reduce traffic. SB1086 limits ADOT's authority to consider integration of roads and vehicles with other forms of transportation, including rail, transit, bicycles, and pedestrians. It states that ADOT must weight ridership on each route for transit so it is no lower than 70 percent of the system average, which could force cities to significantly reduce the number of transit routes. SB1086 is short-sighted and harmful and should be rejected.
SB1092 vehicle mileage; tracking; tax; prohibitions prohibits limits on vehicle miles traveled or any travel reduction program, contrary to air quality requirements. It also prohibits any kind of fee based on vehicle miles traveled, which has been considered as an alternative to gas taxes. Reducing traffic and also integrating planning for roads with accommodating pedestrians and bikes would make our streets safer and could help reduce the high pedestrian death rates in cities like Phoenix and Tucson.
Help Stop Harmful Transportation Bills!SB1538 corporation commission; non-thermal generating unit (Carroll: Gowan, Shamp, et al) is teed up to come to a vote in the House as well. It requires wind and solar to undergo additional reviews and changes the trigger for the need to get a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility (CEC) from 100 to 200 megawatts (MW). With the 200 MW trigger, most gas plants would no longer need a CEC, allowing for siting of polluting power plants right next to communities without any opportunity for further analysis or for the community to seek conditions to limit the impact.
Stop polluting power plants: Ask your Representatives to Vote No on SB1538!
Help Limit Groundwater Pumping in Arizona!
Arizona’s Groundwater Management Act put in place strong protections by establishing Active Management Areas (AMAs) and Irrigation Non-expansion Areas (INA's)
Help Limit Groundwater Pumping in Arizona!
Arizona’s Groundwater Management Act put in place strong protections by establishing Active Management Areas (AMAs) and Irrigation Non-expansion Areas (INA's)
Unfortunately, groundwater pumping in areas outside of AMAs and INAs was largely left unregulated. This has allowed massive agricultural and sometimes industrial entities to move in and further deplete precious water resources, contributing to land subsidence (especially in Wilcox), earth fissures, and ever lower groundwater levels that contribute to wells drying up.
SB1520 Now: Rural Water (Dunn) adds a new third kind of management area that is weaker than the two existing areas. An area designated as a Basin Management Area (BMA) can NEVER be converted to an AMA or IMA in the future. The bill will repeal the already established Wilcox Active Management Area which is the strongest groundwater protection you can have and make it a Basin Management Area.
SB1520 Now: Rural Water (Dunn) adds a new third kind of management area that is weaker than the two existing areas. An area designated as a Basin Management Area (BMA) can NEVER be converted to an AMA or IMA in the future. The bill will repeal the already established Wilcox Active Management Area which is the strongest groundwater protection you can have and make it a Basin Management Area.
Take Action to Protect Rural Water: Tell Your Representatives to Oppose SB1520.
NOTE: The Sierra Club form goes to your Representatives. We suggest that you use their form but edit it to reflect the critical points above.
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