Salt River Project Profile

Arizona’s Salt River Project is the third largest public power utility in the United States, generating power from plants in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico, with a fuel mix of coal, nuclear, hydro, natural gas and oil.

SRP also manages the largest surface water supply in Arizona. Groundwater recharge and high technology monitoring of wells and the watershed are used to track water supply and delivery.

Smart Grid

SRP is generally regarded as above average when compared to utility peers in its pace of technology adoption and has been investing in technologies for over a decade--even before the term “Smart Grid” became widely used in the utility industry. As of November 2008, SRP had installed over 336,000 smart meters, almost a third of its goal, as part of a deployment that began in 2005. Full system deployment and total customer access to time-of-use plans is projected for 2014.

The utility said in July that it will apply for federal stimulus money for smart meters and substation and distribution system Smart Grid automation.

Renewables

Gatorade manufacturing/distribution operates the largest customer-owned solar energy project in Arizona – a 500 KW photovoltaic system that was partially funded by SRP incentive and tax credits. SRP has also funded $4 million for environmental projects that include solar systems at public schools and emission control upgrades on school buses.

The Dry Lake Wind Project in Snowflake, AZ will be a 63 MW wind farm – the first in the state. SRP has a 20-year contract with builder Iberdrola Renewables of Oregon that begins at the end of 2009.

For vendors only …

The various business units planning projects are each responsible and accountable for developing and approving their own business cases and cost/benefit analyses in accordance with SRP corporate guidelines, which can make it more challenging to promote an integrated solution.

It’s also worth noting that Arizona has been hit extremely hard by the economic downturn and state economists anticipate a recovery will be complicated by the slowdown in Arizona’s population growth. In response, SRP has revised its load forecast and resource plans and cut more than $40 million from its annual operating expenses and pushed off or deferred millions in capital expenses; it also proposed an 8.8% rate increase in July, 2009.