(Disclosure: Rose Law Group represents Pinal Partnership.)
By Jodie Newell | Pinal Central
Pinal County’s rapidly growing energy demand was the focus of a sold-out Pinal Partnership breakfast forum held at the Radisson Hotel on Friday, where utility representatives warned that demand is continuing to climb across Arizona.
The energy forum moderated by Court Rich of the Rose Law Group included: Bill McClellan, director of Resource Planning, Acquisition and Development with Salt River Project; Richard Rosales, public affairs manager with Arizona Public Service Co.; Andy Rhea, supervisor of Key Accounts for Southwest Gas; Carter Livingston, stakeholder relations specialist with AES; and Greg Barron-Gafford, director of Food, Energy and Water Resilience Solutions for the University of Arizona’s Biosphere 2.
The panel discussed growing electricity and natural gas demand, renewable energy, agriculture and the need to protect existing ratepayers as large industrial users and data centers continue to show interest in the region.
Highlighting increased energy demands, McClellan said SRP expects peak electricity demand to grow by approximately 5.7% annually over the next decade, more than double the 2.8% annual growth experienced during the previous 10 years.