Democrats target Arizona utility panel as electricity costs become a top voter issue

Democrats and clean energy advocates are hoping rising electricity bills fuel voter turnout in November and drive voters to reject the two Republicans seeking seats on the Arizona Corporation Commission. 

“We can literally elect folks that are going to lower our electricity bills,” Rep. Mariana Sandoval, D-Goodyear, said during a virtual roundtable discussion of utility cost concerns on Wednesday. 

Two seats on the Arizona Corporation Commission are up for grabs this year, and the race to fill them has been dominated by concern over climbing electricity rates. The five-member commission regulates public utility services, including electric companies, and considers rate increase requests. All of its members are currently Republicans. Two Democratic and two Republican candidates are vying for the chance to either cement or disrupt the GOP majority.

Poll after poll has shown that cost of living is top of mind for voters, and concern over monthly utility bills is a significant part of that. A February survey from Climate Power, a nonprofit that advocates for increased investment in clean energy, found that 84% of Arizonans are worried about the cost of electricity. 

U.S. Rep. Adelita Grijalva noted that Arizonans are facing a crippling series of expensive costs, dealing with increasing utility bills, higher home insurance premiums and less accessible health insurance, that combine to make it more difficult to make ends meet. 

“Housing affordability doesn’t end with a rent check or a mortgage payment,” the Tucson Democrat said during Wednesday’s virtual call to action. “True affordability includes the electric bill you have to pay just to keep your children safe during the summer heat, it includes the soaring home insurance premium landing in your mailbox and whether a working family can afford another unexpected bill without having to cut groceries or medicine from the household budget.”

Since 2020, the cost of home insurance has surged more than 70% in Arizona, propelling the state up to 6th place in the nationwide rankings for the places with the most expensive home insurance bills. Grijalva blamed the Trump administration for that increase, saying that tariffs and the Iran war have made building homes more expensive and have driven costs up for everyday Arizonans. 

Grijalva called on voters to support candidates who will push back on Trump’s agenda to reverse some of the damage. At the federal level, Democrats are hoping voter disapproval of Trump will translate into flipping party control of the U.S. House of Representatives. Arizona’s 1st and 6th Congressional races are both among the most competitive in the country and could help decide which party wins control. 

“The path forward is clear,” she said. “We need to stop Trump’s economic sabotage.” 

Lucero Marquez, the associate director of federal climate policy at the Center for American Progress, echoed Grijalva’s frustration with the Trump administration. She noted that the federal government’s turn away from clean energy has and will continue to directly impact the utility bills of Arizonans. 

In January, the U.S. Department of Energy cancelled a $1.8 million loan to Arizona Public Service that was earmarked for clean energy projects, including a new battery storage facility to support a solar site. An analysis by the Center for American Progress estimated that cancelling that loan will cost Arizonans more than $1.5 billion through 2028, leading to an average annual cost of $240 for APS customers.

“The bottom line is that Arizonans are being asked to pay more and our federal government is really making the problem worse,” Marquez said. “We need to invest in affordable clean energy in our electric grid and prepare for climate change and that’s how we help Arizona families out.”