Air pollution and rising utility bills disproportionately impact lower-income families, Latinos, and communities of color, through higher rates of respiratory illnesses and higher electric bills for working families. That’s why Chispa Arizona PAC is heavily involved in races for seats on the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) — the body that regulates utility companies.
Our organization is growing Latino voices, political power and civic engagement for a cleaner future in Arizona. We are fighting for healthier, more sustainable communities and pressuring policy makers and polluters to protect our right to a safe environment. This means working to help the public understand how the actions of powerful corporate utilities impact our families, our climate and the democratic process.
For far too long, the voices of private utilities have dominated the political conversation at the Arizona Corporation Commision. The state’s largest utility, Arizona Public Service (APS), has been particularly brazen in its attempts to influence the election of commissioners. Its parent company, Pinnacle West, has spent millions in the past getting their hand-picked candidates on the ACC — the very body charged with regulating utilities.
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Once elected, these politicians turn around and vote for rate increases and against clean-energy solutions, negatively impacting our future and our pocketbooks. This is not fair and it is not right.
While Tucson Electric Power has not publicly engaged in ACC electioneering, this year its parent company helped finance efforts to defeat Proposition 127 — the ballot initiative that would increase and accelerate Arizona’s adoption of clean and renewable energy. Earlier this spring, TEP partnered with APS to propose massive new investments in natural gas, and just a few weeks ago they won a decision from the ACC to cut solar credits for residential customers, making new rooftop solar even less accessible for Southern Arizona families.
We need regulators who will be responsive to the people of Arizona. This year we have a key opportunity to make this change — by electing new leaders to the ACC.
Think of the ACC like the local school board — it has enormous power to make decisions that directly impact Arizona families on a daily basis — but instead of school policy, it sets household energy rates and regulates pollution.
Chispa Arizona PAC is proud to support Sandra Kennedy and Kiana Sears for the ACC. They are independent leaders who will have the courage to stand up to the status quo and represent ratepayers. Kennedy and Sears recognize climate change is real and are willing to deal with it. And they are the only candidates who seem to understand the ACC exists to protect consumers from utility companies, not the other way around.
Kennedy and Sears have not taken money from any utility monopoly, and they have committed not to if elected. They are going to be accountable to Arizona families and no one else.
We can have a big impact next week by showing up and saying “enough.” Races for seats on the ACC do not dominate headlines, but they have an enormous impact on our daily lives.
At Chispa Arizona PAC, we are working to make sure the public knows what is at stake — we cannot afford to sit on the sidelines while the utility monopolies continue to stack the deck.
Let’s take our power back. Join us in sending a message to the utility companies that we plan to hold them accountable. Vote for Sandra Kennedy and Kiana Sears for the ACC.
Laura Dent is executive director of Chispa Arizona, a program of the League of Conservation Voters.
