For the first time in history, Arizona regulators rejected utility resource plans and directed utilities to make multiple corrections and updates. In response to suggestions from Sierra Club Environmental Law Program (ELP) and other environmental and community organizations, regulators directed the utilities to reduce their load forecasts, to consider scenarios with more renewable resources and energy storage, and to hire neutral third party consultants to review the plans. Regulators also instituted a short-term moratorium on new gas plants over 150 MW and will require utilities to analyze whether clean energy alternatives could offer the same services with competitive costs.
In particular, the regulators cited to a technical review offered by ELP that the utilities estimated steady and persistent load growth despite recent trends to the contrary. In addition, ELP noted that the utilities overstated the projected load growth and also used pricing data that skewed the planning toward gas resources and against renewable resources. From here, the utilities will be directed to correct these issues and submit new plans in the coming weeks.
Regulators also announced that they will begin workshop process to completely revise and reform the state's resource planning process within the next four months. ELP plans to participate in those discussions.