Letter to The Editor:
A Victory in the Champion Complaint Against APS

Information & Perspective by Warren Woodward
(May 29, 2019)

“A Victory,” But Not THE Victory

Last week the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) held an Open Meeting to discuss and vote on Stacey Champion’s Complaint against APS for having unjust and unreasonable rates. The rates set in the last APS rate case were supposed to have an average residential bill impact of 4.54%, but tens of thousands of ratepayers are experiencing much higher increases. I am an Intervenor in the Complaint, which means I am a party to the case.

The ACC meeting last week was specifically to discuss ACC commissioners’ proposed amendments to the Recommended Opinion & Order (ROO) that the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) had filed in the Complaint. The ALJ had recommended the Complaint be dismissed.

In a stunning rebuke to APS, the ALJ, and ACC Staff (who had also recommended dismissal), ACC commissioners voted 4 to 1 against adopting the ROO and thereby against dismissing the Complaint. Commissioner Justin Olson was the lone vote in favor of dismissal. It is worth noting that ACC chairman Bob Burns, who pretends to stand up to APS, admitted changing his vote from being in favor of dismissal to against dismissal only after seeing that in favor was not going to win. So totally lame! Read More→