Column By Sen. David Gowan (R, LD-19)
Arizona runs on water and power.
As a legislator, I’m committed to making sure our state has plenty of each to support future generations. It’s no simple challenge; continued drought across the West is stressing water supplies, and the AI boom and related industries are creating unprecedented energy demand.
Fortunately, legislators have a strong partner with the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC). The Commission regulates private, investor-owned water companies, as well as public utilities responsible for power generation like APS, TEP, and Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Cooperative right here in Cochise County. This is worth noting because Arizona is one of just 14 states nationally in which voters directly elect the individuals charged with regulating public utilities.
In other words, who you elect to the ACC has a real impact on the price you pay each month for electricity.
It’s no mere coincidence Arizona manages to withstand its scorching summers without the rolling blackouts that impact a lot of other states. The ACC is taking an “all-of-the-above” approach to energy generation that utilizes natural gas and coal alongside nuclear, various renewables and utility-scale battery storage.
Instead of political litmus tests and rigid mandates, the ACC gauges utilities’ energy plans based on tried-and-true principles: affordability and reliability.
Lighter government regulations and an emphasis on grid resiliency will allow new technologies to rise. We can’t imagine what future advances in energy generation will help power our state, but a nimble ACC will enable Arizona to take advantage of these technological leaps.
Like you, I’m concerned about affordability. We’ve acted in the Legislature to assist Arizona families by providing economic relief in the form of a $1.4 billion tax cut. The ACC has assisted these efforts by working to keep Arizona energy rates below the national average. In fact, our state actually saw a decrease in energy prices between 2019 and 2024, adjusted for inflation.
What about the future? It’s true that the computing muscle required by AI and other industries will create more demand on the grid. Arizona’s three largest utilities each set records for daily energy consumption last summer. Some forecasts suggest our state will need 25% more power by 2030, and nearly 80% more by 2050.
Plans are well underway to meet that demand, beginning with a 600-mile extension of the Transwestern Pipeline that will transport natural gas from Texas to utilities serving millions of Arizonans. Natural gas is an affordable, cleaner alternative that utilities are increasingly using to convert and re-open shuttered coal plants – as APS just announced with Cholla Power Plant in northeastern Arizona. The Cholla plant will create enough energy to power an estimated 61,000 homes, while once again making the facility a source of jobs and economic activity in rural Arizona.
This is the kind of forward-thinking Arizona legislators and the Arizona Corporation Commission will need as we work together to ensure our state has the water, power and other resources it needs – now and for years to come.
David Gowan is a Republican and represents Legislative District 19 in the Arizona State Senate. He is a former Speaker of the House and lives in Sierra Vista.
