Report identifies consensus-driven recommendations for an affordable, reliable energy future for all Arizonans
Phoenix, AZ - Today, Governor Katie Hobbs announced the release of the Arizona Energy Promise Taskforce report. The report outlines 31 consensus-driven recommendations to modernize Arizona's energy grid, support our booming economic development, reduce bottlenecks, and protect families and small businesses from rising costs related to large-scale commercial and industrial energy users.
Created through Executive Order 2025-13, the 36-member Taskforce, composed of private and public sector leaders, consumer advocates, and subject-matter experts, was formed to address Arizona's rapid growth in electricity demand. Driven by population growth, economic development, and extreme heat, state utilities estimate peak demand could increase by up to 40% over the next 15 years.
"I convened this Taskforce to chart a shared path for the affordable and reliable energy future Arizonans deserve, and this Taskforce delivered," said Governor Katie Hobbs. "Leaders from the non-profit, public, and private sectors came together and developed common-sense policies that lower costs, reduce bottlenecks, and can help us deliver continued prosperity and economic growth. I look forward to continued work on an energy strategy that unleashes Arizona's energy potential, lowers energy costs for our working families, and empowers businesses to start and grow right here in Arizona."
Managed by the Governor's Office of Resiliency and supported by five corresponding working groups, the Taskforce finalized its recommendations between November 2025 and March 2026, using energy affordability, reliability, and resilience as guiding values.
"Arizona's electric grid is the backbone of our society and directly impacts all aspects of our lives. As our electricity system continues to grow, we must develop a shared understanding of the true challenges and risks, while embracing the significant opportunities ahead of us," said Governor's Office of Resiliency Director and Taskforce Chair Maren Mahoney. "This Taskforce and what it has achieved—a majority consensus on solutions for some of Arizona's biggest energy system challenges and opportunities over the next 10 to 15 years—is an example of leadership with the public's interest at the forefront. Thank you to Governor Hobbs for leading on energy, economic growth, and affordability, and bringing this Taskforce team together to create a prosperous energy and economic future for all Arizonans."
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On March 1, 2026, the Taskforce sent its final report to Governor Hobbs, which outlines the following 31 recommendations:
Overarching:- Accelerate energy generation, transportation, and transmission project timelines to reduce project cost through a centralized permitting coordination council.
- Plan for the energy workforce of tomorrow to ensure availability of a skilled workforce, particularly in rural and Tribal areas of the state.
- Encourage transparent and responsible water use in project development.
- Build community support for energy project development through proactive engagement efforts.
Large Load:- Support the ACC's existing Docket #E-00000A-25-0069 process and workshops to prevent cost shifts, mitigate stranded asset risks, and increase development transparency.
- Explore BYOC initiatives that work with utilities for project delivery.
- Support large load customer adoption of energy management tools.
- Require or incentivize large load customers to proactively engage with communities and invest in community-identified priorities.
- Encourage responsible and innovative investments in the energy system and update tax and financial incentives for large load customers.
- Equip communities, amplify community knowledge, and support local governments in navigating around large load development.
Strategic Energy:- Support generation conversions that are reliable, affordable, and sustainable. Promote new resource energy deployment and reduce system costs through clean repowering.
- Raise awareness and support expanded deployment of VPP programs, when economically beneficial, to increase energy resource diversity and grid flexibility.
- Raise awareness and support expanded energy efficiency programs as a grid resource to reduce system costs.
- Remove state red tape preventing deployment of ATTs, when economically feasible, to efficiently and quickly increase transmission capacity and mitigate wildfire risk.
- Increase deployment of distributed solar projects by reducing administrative barriers and supporting new tools and resource development to decrease the land and water footprint and quickly and affordably add new energy capacity.
- Encourage deployment of cost-effective, readily-deployable utility-scale wind and solar energy projects and new transmission lines by reforming and streamlining permitting processes.
- Encourage increased deployment and adoption of low carbon- and water-use firm capacity and energy storage technologies to maintain and promote enhanced affordability, reliability, and system flexibility.
Geothermal:- Improve Arizona's geothermal resource characterization to potentially increase Arizona's energy resource diversity.
- Streamline Arizona's rules and regulations to provide positive signals to private sector investors.
- Ensure safety and environmental monitoring to protect Arizona's water resources and wildlife from unintended consequences and externalities.
- Request technical and financial support from the federal government to advance early-stage geothermal opportunities.
- Foster Innovative Financing Partnerships to attract early to market investors.
- Create an Arizona geothermal playbook for industry to decrease barriers to market.
- When economically feasible and market-ready, include next-generation geothermal potential in long-term energy resource planning.
Nuclear:- Identify pathways for project finance certainty and implement financing guardrails to decrease project costs and protect affordability for Arizonans.
- Support project development at the state level to accelerate project timelines and decrease costs.
Generation & Transmission:- Design a mutually beneficial local priority framework to build community capacity to assess and engage in project proposal discussions.
- Expand transmission co-location and uprating opportunities to facilitate transmission planning, improve timelines, and protect natural resources and wildlife.
- Modernize ASLD procedures to ease project siting and decrease project costs.
- Develop a statewide map of state assets that can support future planning and siting efforts in Arizona.
- Continue Arizona's leadership in regional transmission planning to prevent future bottlenecks in energy infrastructure development.
The recommendations presented are the result of Taskforce meetings and discussions. If they are to be implemented, they will need to be driven by Taskforce member organizations in collaboration with other private and public sector organizations. If a Taskforce member did not support a recommendation, it is noted in the report.
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To read the report and see information about the Taskforce, visit the Governor's Office of Resiliency's Arizona Energy Promise Taskforce webpage.
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