A new state report warns that the booming growth of data centers and other “large-load” customers in Arizona poses a challenge to grid reliability and electric rates.
The Governor’s Office of Resiliency’s Arizona Energy Promise Taskforce calls for “a suite of policy considerations to enable Arizona to accommodate economic growth without compromising grid reliability or unfairly increasing costs for existing customers.”
“The volume and pace of large-load customer growth require new, customized approaches to accommodate economic development while protecting residential and other ratepayers,” it says.
It adds that the pace of large-load facility construction is exceeding historical growth patterns and challenging how utilities make investment and planning decisions…