This piece from Andy Tobin was first published by the AZCentral on December 10, 2024, and can be accessed here.
How Arizona is quietly planning to keep your lights on
How does Arizona ensure that we have the energy we need, when we need it? It takes a lot of planning and nixing red tape.
By Andy Tobin
Arizona is a state of immense potential.
Our economy is surging, our population is growing, and our future is bright. But to keep this momentum going, we need a reliable and affordable energy supply for our homes, businesses and industries.
Fortunately, Arizona is taking significant steps to ensure that we have the energy we need, when we need it.
Too often, these milestones go unnoticed because they take place out of the spotlight, in the hallways and hearing rooms of relatively obscure state agencies.
But the recent work of the Arizona Corporation Commission — which oversees the state’s electric power sector — deserves to be recognized.
Utilities are planning for their electricity needs
The commission recently approved Integrated Resource Plans for our major electric utilities, including Arizona Public Service, Tucson Electric Power and UniSource Energy.
In everyday terms, these are long-term plans that outline how the state’s future electricity needs will be met.
The recently approved plans — as well as a similar plan from Salt River Project, which isn’t regulated by the corporation commission — call for a diverse mix of energy sources over the next 15 years.
That includes renewable energy like solar and wind, as well as traditional sources like natural gas.
Not only that, but there must also be an open bidding process for outside companies to build these new power generation facilities.
3 reasons Arizona needs these kinds of plans
This balanced approach is essential for several reasons.
First, it ensures reliability. Our state experiences extreme weather conditions, from scorching summers to winter storms. A diverse energy portfolio helps us overcome these challenges and keep the lights on.
Second, it promotes affordability. By leveraging market competition, through an all-source request for proposals process, our utilities can secure the most cost-effective energy solutions. This helps to keep our electricity rates low, benefiting both households and businesses.
And third, the planning process also recognizes Arizona’s leadership in the field of battery energy storage. This technology allows solar-powered electricity to be collected during the day and used during the evening and overnight, taking the efficient use of our state’s abundant sunshine as an energy source to a whole new level.
Only Texas and California have more battery storage capacity connected to the power grid than Arizona. This is a major accomplishment for our state when you consider Texas has more than four times the population of Arizona and California has more than five times as many people.
Speed construction to keep energy affordable
The corporation commission’s approach to long-range planning is a testament to Arizona’s forward-thinking approach to energy policy — but it’s important to remember that energy plans are not the same thing as completed energy projects.
To get these projects built and deliver reliable and affordable electricity to the people of our state, we need to improve and streamline the construction permitting process for power lines and other pieces of critical infrastructure.
For months, a bipartisan piece of legislation has been working its way through Congress — the Energy Permitting Reform Act.
The measure would speed permitting and make it harder for extreme environmental groups to use junk lawsuits and other tactics to derail the approval process.
Permitting reform should be one of the first bills approved by the incoming Congress and President-elect Donald Trump next year.
Arizona must maintain its competitive edge
At the state and local level, officials should also carefully examine their permitting procedures to look for any hidden hurdles or other kinds of unnecessary red tape.
For too long, it’s been much too difficult to build anything in America, and this is another area in which Arizona can show real leadership to the rest of the country.
Look to the rural energy and economic success story taking place in Pinal County. Thanks to strong planning, a business-friendly climate and low energy prices, the county has attracted world-class manufacturing companies that pay high wages while still maintaining a rural lifestyle.
The priority of efficient, resilient and affordable energy has helped put Pinal County among the best quality of lifestyles in Arizona, if not the country.
The Arizona economy is the envy of the rest of the country, and by investing in new energy facilities and infrastructure, we can help maintain our competitive edge for decades to come.
Andy Tobin is former speaker of the Arizona House and a former member of the Arizona Corporation Commission. He is president and owner of Tobin Business Solutions LLC and director of The Western Way’s Arizona Rural Energy Network. Reach him on X, formerly Twitter, @Andy_Tobin.