Is the ACC trying to turn Arizona into Germany or California?
It is common knowledge that European countries like Germany who abandoned natural gas and nuclear are struggling. Germany who's national government has acknowledged that they expect grid black outs from 2022 to 2025 said over $600 billion would be needed through 2025 to maintain a stable grid and warned that the “energy transition will endanger Germany as a business location." Similarly, the socialist republic of California also abandoned natural gas and nuclear and are also dealing with regular and incredibly harmful blackouts.
Furthermore, the vast majority of Americans calling for more domestic energy production. The Convention of States Action along with The Trafalgar Group released new polling data that showed that 77.3% of surveyed American voters say that, "in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, President Biden should make increasing American energy production a priority." Notably, 77.6% of independents and 67% of Democrats agree.
All of that didn't stop the Arizona Corporation Commission from making one of the worst mistakes in recent memory.
The Arizona Corporation Commission denied a huge expansion of Salt River Project's natural gas power plant in Coolidge by a vote of 4 -1 this week. The power plant would have brought jobs and desperately needed electricity to the growing area of Coolidge. SRP said that this would create serious problems for residents in the next year and beyond. It makes sense since Arizona is seeing 100,000 new residents a year but it doesn't make any sense why there is no indication that the corporation commission is taking that seriously.
Arizona's second-largest utility had proposed to expand the power plant from 12 to 28 quick start gas-powered turbines. The Sierra Club, who bused up residents from the area seemed to be leading the opposition and was the only organization to go on the record against it. Which makes it puzzling why Republicans Lea Marquez Petersen and Jim O'Connor voted against it. It seems like they buckled under pressure instead of doing the right thing. That really goes for the democrats on the commission as well but everyone expected them to make the wrong decision.
The utility has a chance to appeal and let's hope they do before we end up with rolling black outs like Germany or California
