Arizona Renewable Energy Standard & Tariff (REST)

In 2006, the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) established a requirement that 15 percent of retail energy sales from ACC regulated electric utilities come from renewable energy resources by the year 2025. A portion of that energy (30 percent) must come from distributed resources (DR), or what is commonly referred to as distributed generation (DG) technologies. Half of the DG requirement must come from residential applications and the other half from non-residential/non-utility applications. The requirement applies to investor-owned utilities and electric power cooperatives serving retail customers in Arizona. Distribution companies with more than half of their customers outside Arizona are exempt.

The Goldwater Institute challenged the REST rules in court and in 2007 Arizona's Attorney General Terry Goddard certified the rule as constitutional.

The compliance schedule by year is outlined below:

• 2006: 1.25%
• 2007: 1.50% (5% DR)
• 2008: 1.75% (10% DR)
• 2009: 2.00% (15% DR)
• 2010: 2.50% (20% DR)
• 2011: 3.00% (25% DR)
• 2012: 3.50% (30% DR)
• 2013: 4.00% (30% DR)
• 2014: 4.50% (30% DR)
• 2015: 5.00% (30% DR)
• 2016: 6.00% (30% DR)
• 2017: 7.00% (30% DR)
• 2018: 8.00% (30% DR)
• 2019: 9.00% (30% DR)
• 2020: 10.00% (30% DR)
• 2021: 11.00% (30% DR)
• 2022: 12.00% (30% DR)
• 2023: 13.00% (30% DR)
• 2024: 14.00% (30% DR)
• 2025: 15.00% (30% DR)

Contact Your Utility for Details About REST Program Incentives

The following links connect to the REST program details for Arizona electric utilities and cooperatives regulated by the Arizona Corporation Commission. Salt River Project, which is not regulated by the ACC, also offers incentives similar to REST incentives.

• Ajo Improvement Company
• Arizona Public Service (APS)
• Duncan Valley Electric
• Graham County Electric
• Mohave Electric Cooperative
• Morenci Water and Electric Company
• Navopache Electric
• Salt River Project (SRP)
• Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Cooperative
• Trico Electric Cooperative
• Tucson Electric Power (TEP)
• Unisource Energy Services

The funding available for the each program is limited. The incentives are funded by a small surcharge approved by the ACC and added to customers' electric bills. The approved amounts vary among the utilities. Each utility has an application and reservation process for obtaining funding. It is important for customers to contact their utility directly before investing in renewable energy equipment to obtain specific information on program requirements, funds availability, and the process followed by the utility for approvals and installation.

For more information, see the complete ACC docket (~10 MB PDF):

The Renewable Energy Standard and Tariff rules, Arizona Administrative Code ("A.A.C.") R14-2-1801 through -181 5