Commission candidates favor renewable energy standard but debate timeline
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By DEANNA DENT
Cronkite News Service
TEMPE (Monday, Sept. 15) _ Republicans and Democrats vying for three seats on the Arizona Corporation Commission said Monday they support a requirement that utilities get 15 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2025. Democratic candidates said they expected the state to meet or exceed that goal sooner.
“A lot of us go to conferences and go to meetings and people bow and pay homage to our renewable energy standard. Well, it’s not that great,” Democrat Sam George said at a debate involving all six candidates.
George, a self-employed consultant from Phoenix, cited a study that found 12 states, including California, are ahead of Arizona on renewable energy requirements.
Bob Stump, a Republican state representative from Peoria, joined fellow Republicans in saying the mandate, approved by the Corporation Commission in 2006, is an appropriate way to move Arizona toward renewable energy.
“I do believe it is just right,” Stump said. “I don’t want to emulate anything California has done.”
Sandra Kennedy, a Democrat who owns and operates restaurants in Phoenix, called the standard “a baby step” and advocated energy efficiency to help utilities meet energy demand while the state transitions to renewable energy.
“Green jobs pay well and have good long-term prospects,” Kennedy said. “Arizona is behind the times.”
Republican Barry Wong, a Phoenix lawyer who was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Corporation Commission in 2006, said renewable energy is part of a “balanced portfolio” that for now needs to include coal, nuclear and natural gas.
“In order for this state to grow and sustain itself, we must have sufficient and reliable electricity,” Wong said.
Democrat Paul Newman, a Cochise County supervisor from Bisbee, praised California’s goal for utilities to get 20 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2010.
“If I want to emulate California on one thing that is energy efficiency because they adopted a very aggressive energy-efficiency system,” Newman said.
Marian McClure, a Republican state representative from Tucson, said she doubts she would have voted for the mandate as a member of the Corporation Commission because she thinks government should encourage rather than mandate such changes from businesses. She said she supports the standard as a way to help diversity the state’s energy portfolio but sees renewable energy as only one part of a solution.
“I believe that it would strap the utility companies tremendously and they would be back in asking for a rate increase in the very near future if we expected 100 percent to come from renewable,” McClure said.
The Arizona Telecommunications and Information Council hosted the debate, held at Rio Salado Community College and webcast live, in conjunction with the Arizona Citizen Clean Elections Commission.
All of the candidates said Arizona should do more to tap its abundance of sunshine by becoming a center for solar power generation, including helping homeowners afford to install their own solar systems. They also said Arizona has an opportunity to attract businesses geared toward solar.
The Republicans, McClure, Stump and Wong, said coal and nuclear power remain viable sources in the near term, along with renewable energy, to help Arizona meet its growing energy needs. They said the cost of renewable energy to utilities _ and then to consumers _ needs to be factored into the state’s plans.
Stump said he believes technology eventually will enable renewable energy to cost the same as current sources, but he said it isn’t there yet in most cases.
“Balance is the key,” Stump said. “At the risk of mixing metaphors, we can’t put all of our eggs in one basket, and we can’t have just one leg on our stool.”
The Democrats, Newman, Kennedy and George, said the cost of fossil fuels will continue to rise while renewable energy will be more affordable after the initial investment.
George said Arizona needs to be positioned to act quickly when Congress sets requirements for renewable energy.
“We’re facing an energy revolution, an energy revolution that’s going to mean change that’s going to happen at the speed of light,” George said. “There’s going to be no time for a balanced portfolio.”
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Web Links:
_ Arizona Corporation Commission: www.cc.state.az.us
_ Arizona Telecommunications & Information Council: www.arizonatele.com/atic
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CAPTION FOR BC-CNS-CORPCOMM DEBATE: Candidates for Arizona Corporation Commission participate in a debate Monday, Sept. 15, 2008, in Tempe. From right to left: Samuel George, Democrat; Sandra Kennedy, Democrat; Paul Newman, Democrat; Bob Stump, Republican; Barry Wong, Republican; and Marian McClure, Republican. At the podum is Mark Goldstein, secretary and president of the Arizona Telecommunications and Information Council, which hosted the debate in conunction with the Arizona Citizen Clean Elections Commission. (Cronkite News Service Photo/Deanna Dent)