PHOENIX — Arizona Corporations Commission chairman Kevin Thompson said the ACC is working on balancing utility prices while making sure companies are doing well financially.
“We want to make sure that we are walking that fine line and we are protecting the rate payers and at the same time, ensuring that the utilities (companies) can adjust any reasonable costs on their investment,” Thompson told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Mike Broomhead Show on Friday.
Thompson said that finding a balance on utility prices is important to avoid companies from filing for bankruptcy, like Pacific Gas and Electric Company did in 2019.
“The last thing we want is PG&E type scenario where the utility is filing bankruptcy because they can’t operate. That’s not good for the customers across Arizona,” Thompson said.
Why is it important for utility pricing to find a balance in Arizona?
Thompson added that inflation has been a big factor in why Arizona utilities have gone up.
“We saw that a lot in the Biden administration. We saw the cost of natural gas go sky high and labor go up. Everything just went up across the board and there was a 30% increase on utilities just from inflation,” Thompson said.
“The utilities (companies) have done what they can to bring the costs down and we’ve tried to cut out a lot of the spending that kind doged our utilities a little bit and have tried to bring our rates down.”
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