Arizona Public Service recently announced that it plans to continue operating the Four Corners Power Plant beyond 2031. Four Corners is a coal-fired power plant.
“Arizona’s population and energy demands continue to grow, increasing the need for a balanced mix of resources that can deliver power when customers need it most. Add in extreme summer temperatures and record-setting peak demand, and maintaining a resilient electric grid becomes even more important,” it said on Oct. 2.
“That’s where Four Corners Power Plant comes in. For more than 60 years it has reliably served APS customers, providing around-the-clock power to homes and businesses. While APS continues investing in new resources and technologies to meet the state’s rapid growth, existing generation remains an important part of maintaining reliable and affordable service. Because Four Corners is an existing resource, it remains a cost-effective option and is a key factor in APS’s plans to continue operating the plant beyond 2031,” the investor-owned utility said.
Four Corners “complements APS’s growing portfolio of energy resources, including renewable energy and battery storage. We continue to integrate clean energy resources into our portfolio, which also helps support Arizona’s growth and will continue to play an important role in meeting customers’ needs.”
APS said the future of Four Corners “will continue to be evaluated through APS’s integrated resource planning process, which shows operating Four Corners beyond 2031 could result in a meaningful reduction in costs to customers compared with the modeled 2031 retirement scenario.”
It noted the plant’s lease with the Navajo Nation allows operations through 2038, “and future decisions will be guided by what best serves customers while maintaining reliability and affordability through a balanced energy mix.”
Located on the Navajo Nation in New Mexico, Four Corners Power Plant is the last remaining coal-fired power plant in APS’s generation portfolio.
The plant’s two units provide approximately 1,540 MW to the grid. APS owns 63%, or about 970 MW. Public Service Company of New Mexico, Salt River Project and Tucson Electric Power own the remaining portion of the plant.
“Continuing to operate Four Corners also supports the Navajo Nation economy, where the plant is an important employer and economic contributor. APS values its long-standing relationship with the Navajo Nation and will continue working with stakeholders in the region as future resource decisions are made,” APS said.
