Please speak up to protect clean energy! Last week, the Arizona Senate Government Committee passed a sneaky strike-everything amendment drafted by Arizona Public Service (APS) lobbyists to block more clean energy for Arizona. The amendment placed on HB2005 invites Arizona utility companies such as APS to break the law by not complying with requirements for renewable energy.
Why is the legislature trying to pass a clean energy rollback right now?
It is clear that this measure is intended to undermine the Clean Energy for a Healthy Arizona ballot initiative that requires utilities such as APS and Tucson Electric Power to obtain 50 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2030. The striker makes a $5,000 fine the maximum exclusive remedy for noncompliance and could mean fines as low as $100 -- that's just a slap on the wrist for these large monopoly utilities. It also leaves out a whole lot of other actions and sanctions that can be considered for bad actors relative to renewable energy noncompliance. Everyone knows that if the cost of noncompliance is cheaper than the cost of compliance, these utilities will serve their shareholders, not consumers, and not comply and pay these small fines.
What is really sad is that instead of investing in our future and taking advantage of the power of Arizona's sun, APS is trying to protect shareholders by stopping clean energy such as solar. This big utility which puts a lot of money into elections doesn’t even want to let voters have a chance to say whether or not we want more clean and renewable energy.
Please help stop the bill by sending an email to your senator and representatives today by clicking this link! Also give them a call, if you can. Please modify the message below to include your own reasons for wanting a healthy, clean energy future. Thank you!
More information:
azcentral. article: Roberts: Why don't elected officials challenge APS? This explains it
Solar power is a proven, practical, technology. We need more of it.
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