FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 4, 2025
Contact:
Will Greene, Arizona Representative
wgreene@swenergy.org | 206-406-6827
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[PHOENIZ, AZ] – The Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) voted yesterday to approve the largest reduction in energy efficiency investment in state history, shrinking Arizona Public Service’s (APS) annual energy efficiency budget from $79.4 million to $40 million — half of what the utility currently spends and far below the $90.9 million APS requested to meet growing customer demand.
This sweeping cut dismantles long-standing programs that help homeowners and businesses reduce energy waste, lower bills, and relieve pressure on Arizona’s already strained electric grid. Many of APS’s most cost-effective programs were eliminated entirely, despite having passed all cost-effectiveness tests required by Commission staff.
The programs eliminated or suspended include APS’s Existing Homes program, which provided Home Performance with ENERGY STAR Checkups to help households weatherize, seal air leaks, install efficient HVAC systems, and more. This program, which served as a lifeline for residential customers experiencing spiking electric bills, is now set at a budget of zero. The Residential New Construction program — once a national model for ENERGY STAR homes — has been suspended. APS’s Conservation Behavior Program, which helped customers struggling with high electric bills understand and manage their energy use, has been eliminated. Additional cuts include support for efficient HVAC in commercial and industrial facilities, multifamily housing savings, building code technical assistance, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
“These programs have helped customers cut their electric bills and have created grid capacity allowing our economy to continue to grow,” said Will Greene, Arizona Representative for the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP). “With this decision, Arizona will be even more hard-pressed to find energy resources to grow its economy.”
Greene emphasized that energy efficiency remains the most affordable resource available to APS. “Energy efficiency is the most cost-effective resource APS has, and it isn’t close,” he said. “We know this from APS’s own modeling, from Commission staff analysis, and from decades of analysis by national experts. By cutting APS’s energy efficiency in half, Commissioners today are harming ratepayers who will no longer have the tools previously available to them to reduce high electric bills.”
Greene also noted that every proposed measure in APS’s plan met the cost-effectiveness requirements of both APS and Commission staff. “By cutting the budget for these efforts in half, the Commission has decided to make the grid more wasteful and to saddle families and businesses with higher costs,” he said.
No analysis was offered by the Commission to justify the cuts, which will put APS far behind peer utilities across the Southwest. If implemented as approved, APS’s efficiency investment will fall to one-half or even one-third of the levels maintained by utilities such as Xcel Energy in Colorado, Ameren in Missouri, and PacifiCorp in Utah — companies that continue to rely on energy efficiency as a foundational strategy for maintaining affordability and reliability.
“The Commission provided zero analysis in support of its decision,” Greene said. “This was a political choice, disconnected from what is best for ratepayers. It is a dark day for Arizona’s economy and for customers who depend on energy efficiency to mitigate high electric bills. APS used to lead the way on energy efficiency, and today the Commission chose a different path.”
SWEEP’s full comments to the Commission, along with additional background materials and APS’s docket filings, are available upon request.
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The Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP) is a public interest organization promoting greater energy efficiency, clean transportation, and beneficial electrification in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. swenergy.org
