• Salt River Project says “peaker plants” must address growing concerns about electric grid reliability. The gas utility won’t tell you that these turbines are not the best solution – there are cheaper, cleaner, and more reliable alternatives. This includes solar-generated power coupled with energy storage.
• If storms threaten the grid’s poles and wires, gas electricity generation won’t find its way to customers. In extreme heat or cold, gas plants aren’t always dependable.
• So-called Peaker plants are meant to run as a backup when seasonal peak demand occurs. Most of the year, these plants sit idle, which means Arizona utility customers pay millions of dollars to build and maintain “peaker plants” that are underused, costly, and polluting.
• Adding more methane gas to the system increases our dependence on an unstable market driven by geopolitics. The cost of methane gas is already driving prices up. Utilities are hiking methane gas costs for families and small businesses, yet they're the ones who choose to invest in gas and gas infrastructure in the first place. • Clean energy runs on home-grown energy resources, like unlimited solar in Arizona, and reduces the need for fuel-based electricity. Given the historic levels of federal investment in advanced energy technologies from the Inflation Reduction Act, this will only be more apparent in the future. This federal funding needs to be factored into utility company analyzes to determine the most cost-effective resources for customers today.
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