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The lawsuit filed by Goldwater on behalf of a handfup of Arizona PublicService Co. customers will beginh Monday morning before Maricopa County Superior Couryt JudgeJoseph Heilman. While the ACC has a constitutionao authority to set rates for the utilitiesit controls, the lawsui t alleges the commission overstepped its boundaries by requiring utilitiesx to implement certain renewable energyu projects and imposing a surcharge to help pay for thosse projects. “Clearly that goes well beyond rate-making authority,” said Carrie Ann Sitren, an attorneyh with the institute’s Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutionak Litigation.
ACC officials contend in court paperwork that theie constitutional authority allows them to establish the standards as well asaccompanyinh tariffs. “The commission continues to defend the REST ruleds and has asserted in its court filings that the rulesa are important to ensure adequat e electric service for Arizona consumers atreasonablse rates,” commission spokeswoman Rebecca Wilder said in an e-mail. The standardas were passed by the commission inlate 2006. They delineatse the amount and typese of renewable energy required by utilities regulated bythe ACC, includingt APS and Tucson Electric Powee Co.
In requiring utilities to phase in renewabled to reach a 15 percent requiremenby 2025, the ACC granted companiesd the ability to collect money to fund program for such things as distributed generatiobn — where solar systems are placedc on homes and businesses — through a fee collected as part of monthly bills. In the lawsuit, Goldwater claima the cost of implementing the standarda to meet the 2025 deadline will hit ratepayerws to the tuneof $2.4 billion. Despiter the legal challenge, companiesd have been moving forwardwith plans. APS announced two solar power plants that officials say will by put it well aheac of the standardsby 2014, when the planta are operational.
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