Sierra Club files Request for Rehearing on ACC REST Decision

PHOENIX, AZ - The Sierra Club on Friday filed a r equest for rehearing to ask for a reconsideration of the Arizona Corporation Commission's (ACC) decision to repeal Arizona's Renewable Energy Standard and Tariff (REST), a program that has supported the development of clean, affordable renewable energy, bringing clean energy jobs and investment to Arizona.

In its filing, Sierra Club underscores that the Commission's economic, small business, and consumer impact statement (EIS) failed to properly analyze the economic costs or benefits of repealing the REST program for Arizona consumers and businesses. Its repeal also threatens to slow Arizona's transition from fossil fuels, increasing utility costs for customers who are already stretched thin.

The repeal was the ACC's latest in a string of decisions that prioritizes fossil fuels as opposed to cheaper renewable-energy alternatives. The Commission has already cut utility energy efficiency budgets, and approved policies enabling utilities to implement formula rates, which could mean annual rate hikes with less regulatory oversight.

The Commission has 30 days to respond to the petition.

"In its decision to repeal Arizona's renewable energy standard, the Arizona Corporation Commission did not adequately consider the costs of a repeal to Arizonans," said Sierra Club Grand Canyon Chapter Director, Sandy Bahr. "The ACC needs to quantify the impacts of the program's repeal, because without the renewable-energy standard, renewable energy such as solar becomes even more difficult to implement despite it being better, faster, and cheaper than fossil fuels, especially as we see utilities such as Arizona Public Service abandoning their renewable energy goals."

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