Arizona Public Service CEO: Can Count Customers Supporting Retail Deregulation "On One Hand"

Donald Brandt, CEO of Arizona Public Service Company, said on an earnings call Friday that he can count the number of Arizona customers that support deregulation of the electric industry, which would introduce retail choice to the system, "on one hand."

"Where I sit now, I think we could count the number of customers that are proponents of dereg, so-called deregulation, on one hand," Brandt said.

"I'm looking at a list of 153 organizations, elected officials, chambers, numerous other business leaders, leaders of the Arizona Senate, the Arizona House of Representatives, numerous mayors, city managers, and other local elected officials across the state that have come out strongly against it," Brandt said.

"I don't think the proponents of deregulation necessarily counted on the negative reaction it's received. As you know, reliability of an electric system is very important, and it's also a fundamental of all advanced economies. But in Arizona, the hottest state in America, reliable electric service is literally a life or death necessity," Brandt said.

Brandt said that a decade ago when Arizona last attempted to move forward with deregulation, "essentially the Arizona courts concluded that most of the rules and other processes that had been put in place were unconstitutional and/or illegal for a variety of different reasons."

"[T]hat obstacle to deregulation still exists," Brandt said.

The last dalliance with deregulation, "was a very expensive endeavor for the utilities, for our customers, and there was no visible benefits that came of that exercise. And I think once the commission has a chance to review all the comments and reply comments ... they'll have a good sense that there's not too many opportunities here for Arizona customers, and significant risk and cost that are almost a virtual certainty," Brandt said.

"I am very confident that the Corporation Commission is going to act in the best interest of all our customers and to do that action on a timely basis," Brandt said.