“This is the worst legislation like this that I’ve ever seen,” said Daniel Tait, director of the Energy and Policy Institute, a watchdog group that tracks and reviews utility legislation nationwide. I meant it. Follow along for some of the worst provisions. 🧵 www.arkansasonline.com/news/2025/fe... - ThreadSky

taitdl.bsky.social • 22 days ago

“This is the worst legislation like this that I’ve ever seen,” said Daniel Tait, director of the Energy and Policy Institute, a watchdog group that tracks and reviews utility legislation nationwide.

I meant it. Follow along for some of the worst provisions. 🧵

https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2025/feb/06/proposed-legislation-would-allow-state-utilities/

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andreblakely.bsky.social•1 day ago

This will hurt people in my small town. We will be paying for this upgrade, and maybe it time to ASK some questions.

taitdl.bsky.social•22 days ago

There are too many bad provisions to list them all. You can read a draft of the bill I received in a public records request here: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25503823-draft-bill-to-enact-the-arkansas-strategic-utility-energy-infrastructure-economic-development-and-site-development-act-of-2025-january-15-2025-mark-up/

But here goes...

taitdl.bsky.social•22 days ago

1. Utilities can charge residential customers for any and all costs to connect new big users like data centers, effectively using regular people's utility bills to subsidize big corporations.

taitdl.bsky.social•22 days ago

2. Allows utilities to use customers to finance out of state facilities like pipelines (something once tried by Florida Power & Light before being struck down by the Florida Supreme Court) or forcing Arkansas customers to pay for upgrades at power plants outside the state.

taitdl.bsky.social•22 days ago

3. Practically eliminates the PSC's ability to stop any application by a utility and allows the utility to start construction at the time of application, even before approval.

4. Additionally, the timelines for affected landowners or other stakeholders to act is limited to 30 days in most cases.

taitdl.bsky.social•22 days ago

5. "Strategic investments" are eligible for a 0.5% higher return on equity than the already approved rate. If a utility earn "too much", provisions allow it to make further investments to avoid customer refunds. "Strategic investments" are defined so broadly that it could almost be anything.

taitdl.bsky.social•22 days ago

6. Utilities can charge customers for projects before they are finished and can charge for projected costs.

7. The bill's definition of clean energy leaves off both solar and wind and excludes battery storage.

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