Key Points:

• Arizona Public Service to join other utilities in a natural gas pipeline expansion project

• Its parent company, Pinnacle West, will adjust its promise to be carbon-free by 2050

• Opponents argue out-of-state gas creates volatility, and could be bad for consumers

Arizona Public Service announced it will join in the expansion of a natural gas pipeline while also announcing it will roll back several clean energy targets. 

APS, Salt River Project, Tucson Electric Power, UniSource Energy and the City of Mesa announced Aug. 6 that they will join Transwestern Pipeline’s southwest expansion project. The pipeline is expected to bring natural gas from Texas into Arizona by late 2029.

Arizona Corporation Commission Chairman Kevin Thompson, Arizona Commerce Authority CEO Sandra Watson and Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry CEO Danny Seiden all celebrated the news, saying the pipeline will support the state’s growth and energy needs.

“Arizona’s energy needs are growing drastically, which is why it is so important for the state’s utilities to anticipate and prepare for the future,” Thompson said in a statement. “… I applaud APS, City of Mesa, SRP, TEP and Unisource for their commitment to maintaining this reliability and helping to secure Arizona’s energy dominance.”

Watson and Seiden said the pipeline will be a boon for Arizona’s growing business industry and the project has the backing of several businesses and industrial groups. But, Diane Brown, executive director of the Arizona Public Interest Group, told the Arizona Capitol Times that she doesn’t think out-of-state natural gas is the best move for customers.

“Reliability and affordability are rightfully top of mind for regulators, utilities and ratepayers,” Brown said. “However, investing in additional out-of-state gas does not necessarily translate to reliable energy. And, too frequently, volatile gas prices do not bode well for consumers.” 

The pipeline news came the same day as a press release from the APS parent company, Pinnacle West, announcing the company will be reducing its clean energy goals. APS previously committed to a “zero-carbon” approach to energy by 2050, but will now aim to be carbon neutral by that year.

In the press release, APS CEO Ted Geisler said the shift will allow the company to prioritize reliability and affordability. According to APS, 54% of its energy is supplied through clean resources. 

The company is also removing its interim targets, which included using 65% clean and 45% renewable energy by 2030 and zero coal usage by 2031. 

“Clean energy remains an important consideration for us,” Geisler said in the statement. “But always with a focus on a balanced energy mix that best serves reliability and affordability.”

The Arizona Solar Energy Industries Association called the change a “stunning reversal” of APS’s previous clean energy commitments and said the announcement of the natural gas pipeline was just the cherry on top.

“APS is walking away from every clean energy promise it made to the public, to regulators, to shareholders, and to the communities it serves,” AriSEIA Executive Director Autumn Johnson said in a statement.

Johnson attributed both moves to President Donald Trump’s commitment to keep coal and gas plants online across the country. Arizona’s Corporation Commission was criticized by Republicans earlier this year for not halting APS’s decommissioning process for the Cholla Power Plant after Trump suggested it should stay open. 

“This is not about reliability — it is about politics,” Johnson said in a statement. “And customers are the ones who will pay the price, both in dollars and in missed economic opportunities.”