In Phoenix, small business owner Koral Casillas has become a focal point for growing concerns over soaring utility costs. After leaving her corporate job five years ago to co-found Monsoon Market and Strip Mall, Casillas reported receiving an August utility bill of $1,500, followed by a $1,700 charge the next month. Her experience has drawn significant attention on social media and highlighted the role of the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC), the elected body responsible for regulating the state's water and power utilities.
The ACC is currently reviewing a proposed 14 percent rate increase from Arizona Power Service (APS), which would mark the utility's third price hike in four years. Casillas, speaking at a press conference alongside Democratic candidates Clara Pratte and Jonathon Hill, emphasized that small businesses cannot shop around for cheaper utility providers. She criticized the current commission members for failing to negotiate effectively with companies like APS to ensure safe and reliable power at reasonable rates.
Established in 1912 under the state constitution, the ACC determines customer charges, utility profits, and grid operations. Arizona is one of only ten states where commissioners are elected separately from other government branches, making elections and lawsuits the primary mechanisms for accountability. Republicans currently hold all five seats on the commission following the 2024 election. Since taking control, the commission has repealed state energy efficiency and renewable energy standards and approved formula rate plans that allow utilities to adjust rates annually with less oversight than traditional hearings.
Diane Brown, executive director of the Arizona Public Interest Research Group Education Fund, described these decisions as a "knockout punch" to consumers. Recent polling conducted by The Nature Conservancy in Arizona and the Arizona PIRG Education Fund indicates that approximately 80 percent of Arizonans have seen their electricity bills rise over the last two years. Furthermore, more than 60 percent find summer bills difficult to afford, with a similar percentage raising thermostat settings to save money during hot months.
Democratic candidates Pratte and Hill are campaigning on platforms that include increasing transparency, limiting excessive rate hikes, requiring large energy users to pay their fair share, and expanding renewable energy. They cite an analysis suggesting that between 2023 and 2025, homeowners and businesses paid $587 million toward costs associated with the "large load" sector, such as data centers. While APS stated in a response that this analysis reaches false conclusions and oversimplifies the issue, Pratte and Hill are calling for an investigation into whether ratepayers are subsidizing the surge in electricity demand from data centers.
Hill stated that if families, seniors, and small businesses are found to be paying billions of dollars in data center costs, they will demand immediate reimbursement. The candidates argue that Arizonans are increasingly aware of these issues as their monthly bills continue to rise, signaling a need for significant changes in how the state regulates its energy sector.
Sources: Inside Climate News.