Local opinion: Correcting persistent myths about TEP

The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:

In my long career with Tucson Electric Power, I learned how little most people know about the company. It makes sense — most people just want reliable, affordable energy. But lately, I’ve noticed the same misstatements repeated in multiple op-eds. To help sort fact from fiction, I’d like to highlight five common misunderstandings about TEP and share what the record actually shows.

Myth: 'Rates are skyrocketing'

It’s true that TEP’s bills are higher now than when I started work there decades ago. But rates have only increased by about 2 percent per year, on average, over the past 25 years. More recently, they’ve remained relatively stable as the cost of everything else increased. TEP’s average residential bills in 2025 were about $140 — the same level as 2023.

TEP customers also pay far less than the national average, which is around $190 a month. While many of us pay more than that during hot summer weather, we’re fortunate to be served by a company that focuses intently on keeping rates as affordable as possible.

Myth: 'TEP isn’t investing in clean energy'

This is just false. Between 2025 and 2027, TEP is adding 760 megawatts of new solar and battery storage systems that were identified as sound investments through an all-source request for proposals process. Its largest solar array came online this month and will be followed by more new solar and storage systems this summer.

These new systems will reduce our community’s carbon footprint while contributing to a cost-effective energy mix. TEP’s commitment to affordable, sustainable energy has earned statewide recognition from Gov. Katie Hobbs, who praised TEP’s clean energy leadership at the ribbon cutting for TEP’s Roadrunner Reserve battery system last year.

Myth: 'TEP doesn’t like rooftop solar'

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Nonsense. TEP employees devote thousands of hours annually to support customers who want rooftop solar. Nearly 56,000 customers have made that choice, and TEP has inspected and interconnected each of those systems to ensure safety and mitigate any adverse impacts to the local grid. The company also has upgraded local distribution circuits serving neighborhoods where solar power has been particularly popular to ensure that more systems can be added.

TEP directs its own investments to larger systems because they’re more cost-effective for our community. But supporting private solar at the same time isn’t contradictory. It’s a practical, balanced approach to building a reliable, sustainable energy future.

Myth: 'TEP wants higher rates to serve Project Blue'

This one persists, but the rules in Arizona are straightforward: utilities can only recover costs after facilities are built, operating, and reviewed by the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC). Because TEP hasn’t yet built anything to serve the proposed data center known as “Project Blue,” its rates cannot include those expenses.

The people saying this might have read that data centers are driving up electric rates elsewhere. That can happen in regions where energy resources are growing scarce, and where rates are significantly influenced by market prices. But Arizona utilities are not allowed to charge higher rates based on potential future impacts.

Myth: 'TEP lacks transparency'

After more than 130 years of public operation, TEP’s work is anything but hidden.

The company’s current rate case includes over 1,600 pages of publicly available documents, reviewed in open hearings with many participants. Its long-term resource plans are developed in collaboration with public stakeholders and filed with the ACC for public review. TEP’s agreement to serve the initial phase of “Project Blue,” which will require the facility to pay a published, ACC-approved electricity rate, was debated and approved in a public, live-streamed meeting.

In addition to complying with ACC rules and regulations, TEP provides regular public disclosures to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and federal, state and local environmental agencies. If there’s a more transparently operated company in Southern Arizona, I’d like to see a comparable paper trail to prove it. There’s simply no basis for claiming TEP isn’t operating transparently. If critics feel they lack information about the company, they haven’t looked.