Phoenix, Ariz.— On February 10, 2025, Vice Chairman Nick Myers opened docket G-00000A-25-0029 to inquire into the expansion of natural gas infrastructure and storage in Arizona.

“Resource adequacy for our electric utilities is a growing concern in Arizona. The closure of coal-fired power plants, the increased dependence on intermittent resources, and the projected load growth due to data centers and large industrial customers are requiring substantial firm capacity from natural gas generation to maintain reliability and resource adequacy,” commented Vice Chair Myers, “However, there are significant gas supply constraints. Simply put, Arizona lacks the natural gas infrastructure needed to meet the growing demand.”  

“Further, the significant economic impact of winter storm Uri in 2021 on Arizona electric and gas customers revived discussions about the benefits of developing a large natural gas storage project in Arizona. To be sure, this would be an ambitious project; however, some estimate that it could pay for itself after one ‘Uri-like’ event,” stated Vice Chair Myers.

Vice Chair Myers plans to schedule a workshop in the next 2-3 months to inquiry into developments in the expansion of natural gas infrastructure and storage in the state. He asks regulated utilities, pipeline companies, and other stakeholders with information about these efforts to file comments in docket G-00000A-25-0029. These comments will help shape the discussion of the first workshop.  

For more information, please contact Vice Chairman Myers at myers-web@azcc.gov.