Report: APS Gas Expansion Could Leave Arizona Ratepayers Paying for Decades

A new analysis from the Sierra Club and Synapse Energy Economics argues that Arizona Public Service’s growing dependence on natural gas carries long-term financial risks for the customers who fund it. The report, titled “Passing the Buck: How APS’s Gas Rush Risks Ratepayer Dollars,” tracks how the utility’s resource mix has shifted over time and weighs what the added gas capacity means for household bills.

The central concern is timing. Gas plants are long-lived assets, so the costs tied to building and running them tend to be recovered from ratepayers over many years. If those investments are approved now, customers could still be absorbing the expense well into the future, even as cheaper clean generation and storage become more competitive.

The report adds to a broader debate over utility planning in the Southwest, where electricity demand is climbing and regulators must decide which resources get built. Sierra Club and Synapse frame the gas buildout as a decision with consequences that outlast the current planning cycle, not just a question of near-term reliability.