Enhancing Arizona’s power grid is vital to keeping it reliable for the over 1 million and rapidly growing Valley customers we serve. While modernizing our grid and preparing for new technologies, there are many ways we ensure reliable, low-cost and efficient service.
SRP has always been known for its excellent power reliability. One industry metric commonly used to assess overall power reliability is the System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI). This metric is tracked by the U.S. Energy Information Administration and reflects the average number of minutes customers are without power during outages. SRP is proud to rank first in the nation for SAIDI among all electric utilities with more than 500,000 customers.
Our vision of the future is outlined in SRP’s 2035 Sustainability Goals, which help our customers do more than simply change their habits. These goals help us decarbonize and lay the groundwork for peak energy demand reduction through new energy-efficient technologies and demand response programs.
One of these programs, SRP Business Demand Response Program™, incentivizes Valley businesses to conserve energy while demand on the grid is high. Similarly, residential customers can earn incentives for curbing high demand by participating in the SRP Bring Your Own Thermostat Program™ (BYOT).
The future of Arizona’s power grid is efficiency
Achieving the grid of the future requires innovation and a lot of testing. At SRP’s Innovation Center, we test modern technologies that save energy, keep costs low and give our customers more control over their comfort.
Increasing grid efficiency:
- Cuts emissions
- Reduces strain on the grid
- Ensures reliable and low-cost service for all
By being more efficient and mindful about how and when we use energy, SRP can operate fewer generation facilities. This results in more reliable and affordable energy for you.
In fact, that’s why we offer energy efficiency programs. We reward our customers who switch to more efficient products so that they can save money and energy, while we have to generate less energy — a win-win-win situation.
While our efforts are very forward-looking, energy efficiency is happening all around us today.
The gateway to our future
Items that seemed futuristic even a few years ago are already more normalized in our homes and businesses. For instance, many customers have already switched to:
- LED lights that don’t give off extra heat
- Smart thermostats that optimize energy usage based on your behavior and can be scheduled from an app
- Variable-speed air conditioners that provide optimal cooling, better comfort and improved air quality
Major energy-using appliances around the home like HVAC systems, pool pumps and water heaters have been getting a major upgrade lately too. Traditionally, these appliances operate inefficiently, causing major spikes in the grid’s energy demand when they’re all used at the same time.
Newer versions operate at varying speeds, compared to being powered on at 0% or 100%. If this sounds like something you may want to know about, click the button below.