PHOENIX — Salt River Project electric customers can expect higher power bills beginning in November.
Its executive board approved a 4.7% increase during its meeting Monday.
That equates to an average of $5.58 increase in monthly bills according to the utility.
A second increase of the same amount was also approved which would begin in November 2023.
The utility said the hikes are a result of rising natural gas costs that the utility is allowed to recover through its Fuel and Purchased Power Adjustment Mechanism (FPPAM).
During the same vote, the board agreed to forgo $124 million in fuel costs that customers owe for years prior.
In a 10-3 vote with one abstention, the board also approved the construction of two new natural gas turbines to be installed at SRP's Copper Crossing solar plant in Florence.
The move serves as part of a plan b for the utility after the rejection of its Coolidge Gas Plant expansion by the Arizona Corporation Commission earlier this year.
That expansion would have added 16 natural gas-fired turbines to the existing 12 at a cost of up to $953 million. But the attempt was fiercely fought by residents of the neighboring community of Randolph and environmental groups.
SRP is currently appealing that decision in Superior Court and says it still has an urgent need for more power generation and the ability to bring on more renewable energy onto the grid before the summer of 2024.
The utility purchased eight turbines in anticipation of approval of the Coolidge expansion but with its fate in limbo is now figuring out other places to put them.
"These two are the only two units that we have any hope of getting in service by December of 2024," SRP executive Kelly Barr told the board.
Sierra Club spoke out against the plan instead advocating for using more solar with storage on the site.
"At a time when we should be taking the climate crisis seriously and investing significantly in renewable energy and energy efficiency, it seems that SRP is still looking to more and more gas," said Sandy Bahr Executive Director.
The two units going to Florence will be less than 100 MW, which is the amount that would require ACC and Line Siting Committee approval.
When board member Randy Miller, an opponent of gas expansion, questioned where the other six turbines would go Barr said they had not figured out a location yet.
Construction of the two turbines in Florence is expected to begin in October.
