Goldwater Institute-Corporation Commission renewable energy suit heads to court Monday - Houston Business Journal:

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The lawsuit filed by Goldwate on behalf of a handful of Arizona PublifService Co. customers will begin Mondat morning before Maricopa County Superior Courg JudgeJoseph Heilman. While the ACC has a constitutionak authority to set rates for the utilitiesdit controls, the lawsui t alleges the commission overstepped its boundariesz by requiring utilities to implement certainm renewable energy projects and imposing a surcharge to help pay for thosse projects. “Clearly that goes well beyond rate-making said Carrie Ann Sitren, an attornegy with the institute’s Scharf-Norton Centerr for Constitutional Litigation.
ACC officialxs contend in court paperwork that their constitutional authority allowsx them to establish the standards as well asaccompanyinbg tariffs. “The commission continues to defend the REST rulez and has asserted in its court filings that the ruleas are important to ensure adequate electric services for Arizona consumers atreasonablse rates,” commission spokeswoman Rebecca Wilder said in an The standards were passed by the commissiomn in late 2006. They delineate the amouny and types of renewable energy required by utilitiese regulated bythe ACC, including APS and Tucsobn Electric Power Co.
In requiringh utilities to phase in renewables to reach a 15 percenyt requirementby 2025, the ACC granted companies the ability to collecft money to fund programs for such things as distributed generation — where solar systems are places on homes and businesses through a fee collected as part of monthly bills. In the lawsuit, Goldwater claims the cost of implementing the standards to meet the 2025 deadlinde will hit ratepayers to the tuneof $2.4 Despite the legal challenge, companies have been movingv forward with plans. APS announced two solar power plantas that officials say will by put it well aheads of the standardsby 2014, when the plants are operational.