Arizona hits triple-digit temperatures more than 100 days each year. That kind of intense heat puts a real strain on the electricity grid, especially during summer months when keeping the A/C on is a matter of public safety. But that’s not the only thing causing stress on the power grid these days. With the population in Arizona rising, and new large energy users (think manufacturing and data centers) coming online, there is more pressure on Arizona’s energy system than ever before.

Arizona energy regulators are concerned about what all these pressures could do to consumers, and warned last year that new large energy users, including data centers, must be managed in a way that doesn’t undermine power grid reliability or leave the average household paying for a particular business’s grid infrastructure. In short, the state is facing a supply and demand issue. Demand for energy is going up, but our energy supply isn’t keeping up. It can take many years to build new power generation and the electric transmission wires needed to move and deliver that power to where it’s needed. APS, for example, is advancing major transmission projects to support growth and reliability, but some aren’t expected to be in service until 2032.

The state Legislature can and should make it easier to build more energy supply. Unfortunately, instead of making it easier to deliver the power generation and energy infrastructure Arizona needs, the Legislature has spent much of this ongoing legislative session advancing a slate of bills that would do the opposite. HB 2975, for example, would require the Arizona State Land Department to stop using a tool that helps developers identify the best locations for solar projects to be responsibly built on state lands. And this is just an example of the kinds of unhelpful obstacles being proposed.

Thoughtful oversight is welcome, but unnecessary obstruction only serves to raise project costs, discourage investment, and make it harder to get the next round of energy infrastructure built on time, meaning utilities will need to rely on more expensive short-term solutions. When families and businesses are counting on reliable, affordable power, we can’t afford these kinds of political games. 

But Arizona doesn’t have to choose between reliable, affordable energy and growing the state’s economy. We do have a better path forward. The Arizona Energy Promise Task Force just published a report, developed by stakeholders across the state, that offers a practical roadmap for meeting rising demand while keeping costs in check. The report emphasizes faster permitting, expanded transmission, improved planning for large energy users, and the integration of a wider range of energy resources. These steps will allow the state to meet growing demand, update the grid, and stay competitive in a rapidly evolving landscape, without politicizing energy policy. 

Meeting the state’s energy needs will require faster timelines, better coordination, and clear protections for ratepayers. So far, our grid has held up, and we’ve been fortunate, but good fortune isn’t strategy, and Arizona shouldn’t use that as a cushion for bad policy. As demand grows, making it harder to build and connect new energy infrastructure only increases the risks of higher costs and reliability issues. 

Arizona lawmakers have a choice. They can keep advancing bills that add delay, uncertainty, and cost at exactly the moment the state needs more power and more infrastructure, or they can take a more pragmatic approach: reject and stop advancing proposals that make projects harder to build and focus instead on solutions that improve reliability, expand transmission, and help energy get where it’s needed faster. 

Michael Barrio is a Senior Principal at Advanced Energy United, where he leads the organization’s political advocacy work in Arizona