PHOENIX — Arizona Corporation Commission Commissioner Lea Márquez Peterson issued a letter on Friday calling on her fellow Commissioners to pass a policy that would require regulated electric utilities to generate 100 percent of their power from clean energy resources by 2050.

 

The Arizona Corporation Commission has been working to develop a new policy on clean energy rules for the last two years, but with the recent outbreak of COVID-19, and data still pending on the potential economic impacts, Commissioner Márquez Peterson now believes that taking swifter action on a more overarching policy would help to provide direction, while stakeholders collaborate details and utilities focus on providing reliable utility service.

 

"Adopting a 100 percent clean energy policy today will send a clear and unambiguous signal to utilities, and current and future customers, that Arizona is moving forward with a cleaner and more affordable energy future, while allowing data, free-market principles and least-cost energy resources guide our utilities on how to get there," Commissioner Márquez Peterson said. 

 

In her letter, Commissioner Márquez Peterson describes how Arizona’s current state of emergency surrounding COVID-19 has required the Commission to shift its priorities away from bureaucratic rulemaking processes, to focus instead on utility preparedness while hundreds of thousands of people and businesses grapple with the public health and safety implications of the outbreak.

 

“While I am committed to helping the Commission reach a conclusion on cost-justified energy rules as quickly as possible, I also believe it would be irresponsible for us to try to rush a position on sweeping and comprehensive energy reforms while our stakeholders are currently in the midst of a global pandemic and potential economic crisis,” said Commissioner Márquez Peterson.

 

“Supporting something tangible, today, such as a policy statement that requires regulated utilities to generate 100 percent of their power from clean energy resources by 2050, is the simplest and clearest way to send direction to the utilities while bureaucracy and a public health crisis prevent the Commission from taking a more definitive position on comprehensive rules sooner. Otherwise, it could be months before Arizona has a comprehensive set of energy rules in place.” 

 

“I look forward to the Commission as it considers 100 percent clean energy as the first and most overarching step toward developing a data-driven and affordable clean energy future for the state.”

 

View Commissioner Lea Márquez Peterson’s Letter and Policy Statement Proposal HERE.

 

View the Commission’s Docket on Clean Energy Rules HERE.

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About Commissioner Lea Márquez Peterson, MBA, IOM:

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.

Twitter: @LeaPeterson
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leamarquezpeterson/

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.