Eight candidates competed for the three open seats on the Arizona Corporation Commission – three were registered Republicans in the race, three were Democrats and two were affiliated with the Green Party.
All three of those candidates endorsed by Arizona’s Republican party claimed the available seats with Rachel Walden receiving 17.89% of the votes, Rene Lopez receiving 17.37% and Incumbent Lea Marquez Peterson receiving 16.89% at 99% of precincts reporting.
“It is a great honor to be elected to the Arizona Corporation Commission,” reads a post by Walden on X. “Thank you to all of the volunteers who knocked on doors, made calls on my behalf, and put up signs. I am so grateful for all of the grassroots efforts. But I am especially grateful for the hundreds of thousands of votes. Thank you for trusting me to serve on the Arizona Corporation Commission. I look forward to serving you to make sure our utilities are affordable and reliable.”
Incumbent Ylenia Aguilar was not able to retain her seat on the commission.
“While the outcome wasn’t what we hoped, I’m grateful to all the volunteers who helped shape this campaign,” Aguilar said. “It’s been an honor running [for] state office, meeting so many wonderful people, and visiting communities across our beautiful state. I will always advocate [for] the people of AZ.”
The ACC race has been scrutinized this year after Arizona saw one of its hottest summers in history resulting in energy price rate hikes. Some Arizona residents saw their energy bills increase by up to $100 a month.
According to a study conducted by Texas Electricity Ratings, Arizona is among the top ten states to see energy price increases with an estimate of $2,190.60 per household in 2024. The Democratic-backed candidates claimed that this was due to the current commission which has historically been led by registered Republicans. While prices did increase in recent years, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration places Arizona near the national average in monthly electric bills per household.
In 2023, the ACC approved numerous energy rate hikes, which Petersen said were necessary and fair. These increases include a 9.31% revenue hike for Southwest Gas, a 153% hike for APS fuel reimbursements, a PSA rate increase that is expected to add almost $10 to users’ monthly bills and a rate increase for Southwest Gas that would allow it to recoup an “under-collected” amount of $357 million.
