Throughout 2020, the Arizona Corporation Commission developed plans for an update to the state’s Renewable Energy Standard that would require utilities to fully decarbonize their electricity supply by 2050. The plan has interim requirements that utilities cut carbon emissions in half by 2032 and 75% by 2040. This commitment is notable in that Arizona has not otherwise passed sweeping climate or carbon legislation at the state level.
The new rules update the Renewable Energy Standard and Tariff that an all-Republican commission passed in 2006, which requires utilities to get 15% of their power from renewables by 2025, as well as the 2010 energy-efficiency requirements for them to use efficiency measures to meet 22% of their energy demand by this year.
The new rules, approved by the Commission in November 2020, are technology neutral, meaning utilities may rely on nuclear power and energy-efficiency measures that help customers reduce consumption. The final rules include a host of other requirements, from energy efficiency requirements and battery storage policies for utilities. E.g., utilities must implement enough energy-efficiency measures by 2030 to equal 35% of their 2020 peak demand.
In the last months of 2020, the Arizona secretary of state will post the rules for a public comment period. After that, the commission will take a final vote in early 2021.