Score! APS executives got rich off company stock ... and you got a rate increase
Summary
Opinion: An Arizona Mirror analysis shows secret APS spending to elect a set of friendly state regulators has paid off for the people who run the utility. Arizona Mirror’s Jim Small and Jeremy Duda spent several months analyzing the fortunes of the people who run APS and its parent company, Pinnacle West Capital Corp. In all, since APS began its secret campaign to handpick its regulators in 2013, the Mirror reports that shares of Pinnacle West stock have risen an astounding 73% – much of that since 2017 when the commission voted 4-1 to raise our rates. Doug Ducey – one of many key politicians who also have enjoyed a sizable amount of Pinnacle West largesse – appointed Peterson to the Corporation Commission to fill a vacancy. The Corporation Commission – hopefully improved since voters got wise and tossed out an APS-friendly regulator in 2018 – on Wednesday is set to grill Brandt on how APS went about disconnecting power from Pullman and thousands of other Arizonans struggling to pay their bills.