Republicans have kept their majority on Arizona’s Corporation Commission despite clean energy groups spending millions to flip control of the utility regulatory body.
Just one Democratic candidate, Tolleson Mayor Anna Tovar, won an open seat on the commission. The other two open seats went to Republican candidates Lea Marquez Peterson, the only incumbent running, and Jim O’Connor, as both join current Republican Commissioner Justin Olson in solidifying the GOP majority. Tovar joins one other Democratic commissioner, Sandra Kennedy.
The Arizona Corporation Commission oversees electric and other utilities in the state, as well as pipeline and railroad systems. Arizona is one of just 11 states in which utility commissioners are elected, rather than appointed.
The election results call into question how quickly the commission will mandate Arizona to move to renewable power. The outgoing slate of commissioners, just days before Tuesday’s election, approved in a split 3-2 vote a 100% carbon-free power by 2050 standard for the state’s utilities, but a final vote and subsequent rulemaking process are still necessary to make the requirements official.
That standard would also require utilities to get 50% of their power from renewables such as wind and solar by 2035, as well as slash their carbon emissions by 50% by 2032 and by 75% by 2040.
Marquez Peterson and Olson both voted against that standard. O’Connor has said that he opposes any new renewable energy mandates, and he has raised questions about mainstream climate science.
And even if the clean energy standard is finalized without changes, the new slate of commissioners will have a major say in how it is implemented. It’s likely that the Republican majority will place a greater emphasis on including all zero-carbon resources, such as nuclear energy, rather than just focusing predominantly on solar power.
The failure of Democrats to capture the majority is a blow to clean energy groups, who had spent generously on the race in hopes of speeding up the state’s transition to renewable energy. The three Democratic candidates had run together as the self-described “Solar Team,” with promises to boost Arizona’s commitment to solar energy, battery storage, and other clean energy resources.
Billionaire and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg poured more than $6.4 million into backing the Democratic candidates through his Beyond Carbon Victory Fund. Chispa Arizona Political Action Committee, a Latino environmental group affiliated with the League of Conservation Voters, spent $2.7 million in the race.
Marquez Peterson told local radio station KJZZ that she thinks the money backfired for the Democratic candidates because it looked like they were trying to buy the majority.
