Energy Choice
                            

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Arizona Commissioner Concerned Rural Residential Customers Wouldn't Receive As Many Competitive Offers If Choice Introduced

December 4, 2018

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Copyright 2010-17 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com

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During the initial workshop in the Arizona Corporation Commission's latest consideration of electric choice, Commissioner Boyd Dunn expressed concern that residential customers in the rural parts of the state would not see the same benefits of electric choice as other customers.

"I do have a concern, I think it really comes down to all of the residential customers, especially those in the rural parts of the state, which I would imagine would not be given as much competitive choices as we would if we're living in the Phoenix metropolitan area," Dunn said

Commissioner Andy Tobin also expressed concern with a "disparity" potentially arising affecting rural Arizonans if choice were adopted.

The workshop generally covered the same ground as the ACC's most recent choice investigation

Opponents of electric choice, such as Arizona Public Service, Residential Utility Consumer Office, and AARP, cited various arguments against choice, including:

• Alleged cherry-picking of the most profitable customers, and the attendant cost-shifting

• Deceptive practices by suppliers, with cites to various lawsuits and settlement agreements with regulators, teaser rates, and various actions taken by regulators (ban on variable rates in Connecticut) or sought shut-downs of the residential market (Massachusetts)

• The alleged lack of new capacity in Texas and resource adequacy issues (as previously noted, incendiary rhetoric from capacity market proponents in Texas has made this case for such choice opponents)

• Ceding control to FERC if implementing an organized wholesale market

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