Candidates split over solar, renewables in Arizona Corporation Commission debate

Electricity, and specifically the fuel types that should be used to generate it, took center stage in an hourlong debate on Tuesday sponsored by the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission.

Democrats Ylenia Aguilar, Jonathon Hill and Joshua Polacheck came out strongly in favor of solar and other renewable sources, with Republicans Rene Lopez, Lea Márquez Peterson and Rachel Walden favoring a more diversified mix, including fossil fuels.

Despite the division on this and other topics, the discussion was mostly cordial.

The six candidates invited to the debate each had received at least 1% of the vote during the July 30 primary election.

Two Republicans not facing reelection currently sit on the board, as does Peterson, the only incumbent running for reelection.

Both sides focused on the need to keep rates affordable while ensuring that Arizona has the power-generation capacity to support population increases and business growth.

The Democratic candidates as a group came out more strongly in favor of solar, while the Republican candidates argued for a broader mix, including electricity generated from nuclear power, natural gas and coal.

“It’s like investing: You don’t put all of your eggs in one basket,” said Walden, who previously worked in the investment industry.

“Energy reliability is the number one factor,” added Peterson, who stressed the importance of avoiding blackouts, especially on high-demand summer days.

Lopez built on the reliability theme by describing Arizona’s projected energy needs as “phenomenal.” No energy-generating sources “can do it all by themselves,” he said. “We need them all.”

Democrats took the opportunity to attack the current commission, with its 4-1 Republican edge. Polacheck accused the group of not seeing a “rate increase they didn’t support wholeheartedly,” and Hill called a rate increase approved for Arizona Public Service earlier this year excessive.

Peterson, who voted with other Republican commissioners in favor of it, countered that the panel reduced the Phoenix-based utility’s request by $200 million.

Walden noted that utilities including APS typically must borrow money to finance expansions and other needs until the commission acts on their rate-increase requests. “A lot of our utilities have dragged these expenses around for years,” she said. Rate hearings are the time to “pay the bill.”

The commission also regulates some water utilities, as well as other topics such as unsavory investment-industry practices, but electricity dominated the debate.

Hill and Polacheck said Arizona’s major power utilities are seeing record profits, while Peterson countered that Arizona’s electricity costs are relatively low, citing a WalletHub study.

Aguilar, who delivered some of her opening remarks in Spanish, accused the current commission of siding with utilities over ratepayers. She also argued that further investments in solar and wind power will help to reduce expenses in those areas. Given the plentiful sunshine here, “there’s no reason Arizona shouldn’t be running entirely on solar,” Hill said.

And while the sun doesn’t shine around the clock, the emergence of large-scale battery projects are helping to make solar even more attractive by storing up power during low-demand morning hours for release later in the day.

“That allows us to shift that peak energy demand from midafternoon to early evening,” Hill said.

Voters may start casting early ballots on Oct. 9 for the Nov. 5 general election.

Arizona Corporation Commission: How the candidates compare on key issues

The five-member commission regulates electric utilities, some investment companies and various other entities. Each commissioner serves a four-year term, with elections for open seats held on a rotating schedule.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Candidates split over solar, renewables in Arizona Corporation Commission debate