Arizona 2023 Integrated Resource Plans
Synapse supported Sierra Club in its multi-year involvement with Arizona Public Service (APS) and Tucson Electric Power Company (TEP) Integrated Resource Planning (IRP) process. Over the course of the last three years, Synapse attended and participated in numerous IRP workshops and stakeholder sessions on behalf of the Sierra Club. Synapse reviewed APS and TEP’s modeling methodology and results using the Aurora software that the Company was using. Synapse also prepared several presentations to the Commission and utilities with recommendations for improving APS and TEP's IRPs. Finally, Synapse assisted in the development of several rounds of comments on both APS and TEP’s IRPs. These comments identified areas in which TEP and APS respectively failed to advance the goals of protecting ratepayers, providing transparency, and operating a well-planned and efficient electricity system.
Arizona Public Service IRP – topics of focus included:
- Four Corners Power plant – specifically, APS’s modeling of the coal plant, its evaluation of early retirement scenarios as well as seasonal operations.
- Procurement of replacement resources to allow for early retirement of four corners
- Projected load growth, particularly from data center customers
- Natural gas build-out to serve projected load and replace retiring assets
Tucson Electric Power IRP – topics of focus included:
- Modeling methodology – specifically, the Company’s failure to follow Commission orders to develop its portfolios using capacity expansion software
- Coal plant retirement analysis
- Economics of Springerville coal plant
- Natural gas build out – despite previously commitment by TEP to stop building natural gas