Last month, the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) approved a comprehensive statewide transportation electrification plan. This plan is a critical step in moving Arizona closer to greater incorporation and adoption of electric vehicles. The bipartisan plan aims to further encourage adoption of electric vehicles, including light duty vehicles as well as medium duty trucks, transit buses, and school buses, and increase the build-out of charging infrastructure.
With that in mind, the plan anticipates just over one million EVs on Arizona roads by 2030, and focuses on what utilities need to do for Arizona to reach that goal. In particular, the plan identifies some barriers to greater adoption including insufficient charging infrastructure and the need for grid planning and effective rate design, and includes steps to overcome these barriers such as requiring utilities to assist communities in identifying the best charging station locations, developing incentive programs for vehicles and charging infrastructure, and proposing new rates for vehicle charging.
The plan also makes economic impact estimates that under the medium adoption scenario, transportation electrification could provide a total lifetime net benefits of $9 billion to EV purchasers in Arizona by 2040 through lower total cost of ownership, and $12 billion to electric utility customers through downward pressure on electricity rates. Reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, local air pollutants, and gasoline consumption could also lead to $28 billion in benefits for Arizona as a whole.
The plan, which follows previously approved individual transportation electrification plans submitted by Arizona Public Service and Tucson Electric Power in 2019, requires regulated utilities to file electric vehicle proposals every three years, and to report each year on their progress in helping customers switch from internal combustion engine vehicles to EVs. The first plans are due on June 1.
The statewide transportation electrification plan is a positive step forward for Arizona in greater EV adoption. Arizona has lagged behind other states in EV investment despite technological and manufacturing advancements, economic and environmental benefits, and broad public support for EVs. In part, that has been due to the lack of regulatory certainty in this area. The ACC’s approval of a statewide plan provides much-needed momentum, direction, and regulatory support for EVs that will help Arizona not just catch-up with neighboring states, but surpass them in EV adoption.