Swing Shift

I practice in front of the Corporation Commission so I don't cover it in Espresso Pundit.  But I will say that the most significant election news in the last week was the 5,000 vote swing that  allowed Bob Stump to move ahead of Sam George for the third ACC seat. 

The six ACC candidates were all pretty similar, but Stump and George represented the ends of the spectrum so the swing dramatically shifts the ACC's political center of gravity.  More significantly, of course, is that the ACC was going to be in Democratic control under George and it remains in Republican control under Stump. 

Few people understand that--with the possible exception of the Governor--Corporation Commissioners are the most powerful elected officials in Arizona state Government. 

I'm sure that there will be plenty of commentary expressing dismay that I would even question whether an ACC Commissioner is in the same league as the Governor.  I would argue that there are almost daily examples of the ACC's power in the news.  However, for a dramatic example, I would point you to the extraordinary Open Letter to the Commissioners from Arizona Public Service Chairman Bill Post in Sunday's Republic.

We understand that increasing electric prices is difficult during the best of times. However, APS is not seeking a bailout from taxpayers. Rather, APS is seeking to recover actual costs incurred. Moreover, the level of rate relief sought is consistent with or less than that requested, and in some cases already received, by Arizona's other two major electric providers.

This is where the role of regulatory leadership comes in. Arizona needs the Corporation Commission to act now at this critical juncture for the state and the more than 1 million APS customers. The stakes are very high; and the risks of inaction or the wrong action are both very real and very dangerous to consumers and Arizona.

Comments

[Matt S.]

The fact that Mr. "George" (nee Vagenas) was so successful at gaming the same Clean Elections system that he always took credit for creating makes me want to vomit. He almost won. Makes me think of the Islamic terrorists who first tried a truck bomb in the World Trade Center in 1993. They told law enforcement that the only reason they failed was that they were underfunded. Sam has access to more funding.

[NoMoreVagenasConJobs]

Arizona's political community got a wake up call. Democrats recognize Vagenas for the con man he is. He will face opposition beyond his wildest dreams when he runs again. When, not if.

[Name:]

The ACC is only as powerful as the Legislature allows it to be. I really wanted to see one body in R hands and the other (ACC) controlled by D's. Or D's and Mayes. Same difference.

[Thane Eichenauer]

Right/Left/North/South, Democrat control or Republican control, the only real issue I can make follow heads or tails is whether the new Corporation Commission will continue with their plans to impose a 15% renewable mandate or not. Anybody have a count on that one with the new Commission?

[SonoranSam]

Matt S:

I didn't vote for Sam George, but to equate him with Islamic Terrorists (!!!) is the kind of over-the-top nonsense that turns voters against Republicans.

Hmm. On second thought, keep up the good work.

[Casual Observer]

Perhaps Mr. Post should consider trimming his budget before attacking ours. The activities of APS have long ago gone past being a public service utility and into a serious power center. They actually believe they have the right and responsibility to determine public policy, as we mere mortals know not what we need. Their arrogance knows no bounds so why should we expect their perception of reality to be any different? Pinnacle West is nothing more than the capital generating entity and fiscal agent for the policy efforts of Post and Shultz, et al.

The ACC needs to ask for an evaluation of the expenditures allocated for attempts at forcing us into paying higher taxes, removing our choice in schools, and influencing legislators to pass laws that benefit APS while sticking it to the rate payer.

[Joe the Plumber]

If an Arizona school district paid $200K per year for a school superintendent, then let that superintendent spend more than half of his time on issues that had nothing to do with education and then asked for a big fat override, voters would be right to reject it. How is different for APS? Marty Shultz, the highly paid Vice President of APS, spends most of his time on projects like Downtown Improvement, Tranportation Tax Increases and, oh yes, a school consolidation plan fiasco that just went down in flames and then APS asks for more money. Honestly, if APS can give highly compensated employees free time off to engage in pet policy projects, they don't deserve a rate increase. The CC should just say NO and make APS refocus its efforts and cut its costs first.

[peoria]

I wonder why Mr. Post states that the Solana project will be at risk if rates are not increased.

The Solana project is supposed to be funded and built by a firm from Spain, Abengoa Solar. APS supposedly has a 20-year contract to purchase the power generated by the Solana plant, which won't be on-line for 2 or 3 years.

APS is not supposed to be involved in the construction of the plant or the transmission lines tieing the plant to the grid.

So how is the APS rate hike request relevent to whether or not the Solana plant gets built?

[Roald A]

There is a MUCH bigger potential story to the Bob Stump victory, as detailed in this story: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2008/11/post_135.html

The big debate that Al Gore says is settled may actually be initiated instead, if the ACC and the legislature require a thorough and unbiased analysis of the scientific basis of the Western climate Initiative's cap-and-trade climate change plan.

[nick]

Rupert Murdoch
"it's not newspapers that might become obsolete. It's some of the editors, reporters, and proprietors who are forgetting a newspaper's most precious asset: the bond with its readers."

APS??
RATEPAYERS??

[N]

THE GREAT GORE CABAL.

GISS's computerised temperature maps seemed to show readings across a large part of Russia had been up to 10 degrees higher than normal. But when expert readers of the two leading warming-sceptic blogs, Watts Up With That and Climate Audit, began detailed analysis of the GISS data they made an astonishing discovery. The reason for the freak figures was that scores of temperature records from Russia and elsewhere were not based on October readings at all. Figures from the previous month had simply been carried over and repeated two months running.

SARGENT FRIDAY SAID JUST THR FACTS!!

[nick]

Today.

Govenor Jamit said she hopes the
new conservative majority will continue
to acquiesce to her massive spending
proposals to improve the Arizona quality
of life.