Clara Pratte grew up hauling water in barrels and doing homework by kerosene lamp on the Navajo Nation, and she says that’s why she’ll oppose utility rate hikes as a corporation commissioner.

The five-member Arizona Corporation Commission regulates the state’s private utility companies, setting rates for electricity, gas, water and wastewater service. It also oversees business incorporation, securities and railroad and pipeline safety.

Commissioners serve staggered four-year terms, are elected statewide and are capped at two consecutive terms. Two seats are on the Nov. 3 ballot, both currently held by Republicans: incumbent Kevin Thompson, who won his primary, and Chairman Nick Myers, who lost his primary to state Rep. Ralph Heap.

Pratte, a Democrat, is campaigning on a joint ticket with fellow Democrat Jonathon Hill. They face Thompson, Heap and Green Party write-in Mike Cease in the general election.

Tucson- and Phoenix-area residents face potential increases in energy bills as the commission weighs rate requests from Tucson Electric Power and Arizona Public Service. Water use is also a recurring concern for desert residents.

Pratte is a native of the unincorporated town of Tsé Si Ani on the Navajo Nation. Her family did not have running water or power at their home until she was in middle school, according to her campaign website.

Pratte said that upbringing, which also included heating her home with coal, shaped her view of the importance of utilities. She connected it to rural and tribal communities in Arizona that still lack access to safe, affordable water and power.

She went on to co-found Navajo Power, a developer of utility-scale clean energy projects on tribal lands, where she works as executive chair. Pratte also worked to develop tribal portfolios for the U.S. Small Business Administration and Department of Commerce, and served as chief of staff to the president of the Navajo Nation.

Pratte said she hears concerns across the political aisle that energy rates are too high. She recalled meeting a senior citizen who cares for her terminally ill husband and told Pratte she is considering forgoing her own medications to pay medical bills while keeping the house cool. Pratte said she promised the woman that her top priority as a corporation commissioner would be making her utility bills more affordable.

“For too long, the Corporation Commission has been a rubber stamp for TEP, APS and other utilities that are making record-breaking profits, rather than doing its job to advocate for utility customers. Instead of blindly approving every rate case put in front of them, the Corporation Commission needs to closely scrutinize every request,” Pratte told Tucson Spotlight. “I will oppose out-of-control rate hikes that force families to choose between paying their utility bills and putting food on the table.”

She said her experience with Navajo Power would help her judge which costs in a rate case are justified by inflation and grid improvements and which are driven by “greed and a desire to boost corporate profits.”

Pratte also criticized the five sitting commissioners, particularly Thompson, over his involvement with the Regulators Roundtable Institute and its political action committee. The institute convenes and educates conservative utility commissioners around the country.

“This is unacceptable,” she said. “When I’m on the Corporation Commission, I will listen to Arizonans first and make decisions based on the facts, not profit-driven pressure from utility companies.”

On water, Pratte said the commission has a problem with rate shocks because private water companies wait too long to seek rate reviews or plan for new infrastructure. She also criticized the commission’s record of holding those companies accountable.

“Private water companies have seen that the current Corporation Commission will let them get away with huge rate increases by calling them an emergency, and it’s only a matter of time before more decide to test the waters,” Pratte said. “It’s hard to believe why commissioners would ever allow a water company to increase the cost of services by 154% all at once.”

Pratte said the commission isn’t showing enough leadership on stopping water leaks and encouraging lower water use.

Data centers tie water and power concerns together. Pratte pointed to rising temperatures and heavy water and energy use as reasons the current approach isn’t working. She also criticized Thompson’s role in the Project Blue data center, saying he put a wealthy corporation ahead of strong opposition from Tucson residents.

Project Blue is being built on county land north of the Pima County Fairgrounds, where Tucson Electric Power will supply the power after regulators approved a deal last December.

“I believe commissioners have been asleep at the wheel on this, and that’s why we need new leaders. For too long, data center development agreements have unfairly benefited large corporations and harmed residential customers,” Pratte said.

Data centers should cover 100% of their development costs, including water, power and infrastructure, Pratte said. She also supports steps to minimize their water and power use and more transparency.

Pratte has raised $165,197.31 and spent $164,805.83, leaving her campaign with $391.48 on hand, according to campaign finance reports.

Ian Stash is University of Arizona alum and freelance journalist in Tucson. Contact him at ianjgs16@gmail.com.

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