News Release

For Immediate Release | 7-3-19

Media Contact | Office of Commissioner Márquez Peterson

Direct | 602-542-3625

Email | lmarquezpeterson-web@azcc.gov 

From the Office of Commissioner Lea Márquez Peterson

Lea Márquez Peterson Meets with Diane E. Brown of the Arizona PIRG Education Fund to Discuss Consumer Advocacy and Energy Efficiency at the Arizona Corporation Commission

TUCSON – Arizona Corporation Commission Commissioner Lea Márquez Peterson met with Diane Brown Wednesday to discuss consumer advocacy and energy efficiency issues in Arizona.  

The Arizona PIRG Education Fund is a statewide non-profit, non-partisan organization that works to protect consumers in utility rate cases and promote good government at the Arizona Corporation Commission. The Arizona PIRG Education Fund investigates consumer problems and tries to craft solutions, educate the public, and offer citizens meaningful opportunities to participate in Commission proceedings.

Diane Brown is Executive Director of the Arizona PIRG Education Fund and has been advocating on behalf of consumers at the Commission for close to 15 years. She told Commissioner Peterson she frequently travels the state to meet with residential and small business customers to ensure their concerns and interests are being represented at the Commission.

“Commissioner Márquez Peterson quickly grasped concerns expressed on utility rates and disconnects and the importance of ensuring ratepayers are equipped with tools to reduce their bills,” stated Diane Brown. “I was impressed with the Commissioner’s questions, relatable experiences, and overall desire to learn.”

Diane Brown said the Arizona PIRG Education Fund has seen several important policies passed at the Commission in the last year, including increased funding for utility Demand-Side Management programs, an electric vehicle policy at the Commission, an extension to the Commission’s natural gas moratorium, proforma billing for utility customers, and an improved customer education & outreach program for Arizona’s largest electric utility.

Commissioner Márquez Peterson thanked Diane Brown for her time and said she is looking forward to hearing her perspective on important matters at the Commission in the future.

# # #

About Commissioner Lea Márquez Peterson, MBA, IOM:

Commissioner Lea Márquez Peterson was appointed to the Arizona Corporation Commission by Governor Doug Ducey in May of 2019. She is the first Latina to serve in a statewide seat in the state of Arizona.

Lea has been an entrepreneur in our community for many years and served as the President/ CEO of the Tucson Hispanic Chamber from 2009 until November of 2018. The Tucson Hispanic Chamber serves the business community in the bilingual, bi-cultural region of the Arizona-Sonora border and was recognized as the Hispanic Chamber of the Year in 2013 by the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. The chamber represents over 1800-member businesses and in partnership with the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry is one of the largest chambers in the State of Arizona.

She ran for Congress in Arizona Congressional District 2 in 2018 and won a competitive primary race though lost the general election. She previously served as the Executive Director for Greater Tucson Leadership (GTL) from 2005 to 2009 and owned and operated a Business Brokerage Firm from 2005 to 2009 and a chain of six gasoline stations / convenience stores with 50 employees from 1998 to 2005 in the Tucson region.

Lea has been appointed to serve on the Arizona Judicial Council which advises the Arizona Supreme Court and the Arizona Finance Authority, the state’s bonding authority. She chairs the Board of Directors of Carondelet’s St Mary’s and St Joseph’s Hospitals in Tucson and is the former Chair of the Pima Association of Governments’ Economic Vitality Committee. She serves on the Boards of the University of Arizona Foundation and the Pima County Workforce Investment Board and is the President of the National Association of Women Business Owners in Tucson. She also serves on the national board for the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

She received her undergraduate degrees in Marketing and Entrepreneurship from the University of Arizona, and her Master of Business Administration from Pepperdine University. She is married with two children.

The Arizona Corporation Commission was established by the state’s constitution to regulate public utilities and business incorporation. The Corporation Commission is Arizona’s co-equal, fourth branch of government. The five Commissioners elected to the Corporation Commission oversee executive, legislative, and judicial proceedings on behalf of Arizonans when it comes to their water, electricity, telephone, and natural gas resources as well as the regulation of securities, pipeline, and railroad safety. To learn more about the Arizona Corporation Commission and its Commissioners, visit http://azcc.gov.

Twitter: @LeaPeterson

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leamarquezpeterson/