APS Abandons Clean Energy Commitments, Undermining Public Trust and Arizona’s Energy Future

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 6, 2025

Phoenix, AZ — In a stunning reversal, Arizona Public Service (APS) has announced it is rescinding all previously stated clean energy goals—eliminating its 2030 targets of 65% clean and 45% renewable energy, walking back its 2031 coal exit timeline, and discarding its 2050 carbon-free objective.

This decision leaves Arizona’s largest utility with no coal retirement plan, no renewable energy goal, and only 19% of its energy currently coming from renewable sources—despite years of public commitments and regulatory filings suggesting a transition was underway.

“APS is walking away from every clean energy promise it made to the public, to regulators, to shareholders, and to the communities it serves,” said Autumn Johnson, Executive Director of the Arizona Solar Energy Industries Association (AriSEIA). “We are left with vague intentions and zero accountability. This is not a transition plan—it is a retreat.”

The reversal stands in direct contradiction to APS’s last two Integrated Resource Plans (IRP), one of which the utility defended before the Arizona Corporation Commission just last fall. Those IRPs included these now-abandoned commitments and were also used to justify APS’s lobbying for a securitization bill—legislation designed to help finance the cost of transitioning off coal. That rationale is now in serious doubt, as the utility appears to have no intent to exit coal or accelerate clean energy development.

“APS fought tooth and nail for a securitization tool they clearly do not intend to use,” said Johnson. “They are signaling not just delay, but abandonment of the entire transition.”

In recent statements, APS has attempted to justify its reversal by citing reliability concerns. But its own IRPs clearly show that clean energy, storage, and demand-side management are reliable, scalable resources capable of meeting Arizona’s energy needs. The decision to abandon those resources appears not only unjustified—but politically motivated.

“This is not about reliability—it is about politics,” said Johnson. “And customers are the ones who will pay the price, both in dollars and in missed economic opportunities.”

The announcement also echoes prior failures in utility planning—particularly in how the closure of the Navajo Generating Station left the Navajo Nation without clear timelines or transition opportunities. APS’s ongoing ambiguity around the Four Corners Power Plant continues that legacy of uncertainty, depriving impacted communities of the ability to plan for their future.

Meanwhile, APS is investing in new natural gas pipeline infrastructure, despite previous claims that gas would serve only as a short-term bridge. The company’s actions suggest a long-term recommitment to fossil fuel infrastructure at a time when there is no statewide energy plan and no enforceable clean energy standard in place.

The pending repeal of Arizona’s Renewable Energy Standard and Tariff (REST) will leave the state with no formal policy structure to ensure clean energy progress. In that context, APS’s abandonment of its own voluntary goals leaves Arizona residents, businesses, and rural communities with no guarantees, no accountability, and no timeline for a cleaner or more affordable energy future.

“This is a betrayal of public trust,” Johnson added. “I personally worked with APS during the formation of their clean energy commitment. I believed it represented a step forward—however modest—for a utility that had long resisted change. But now it is clear: APS lacks leadership, lacks innovation, and lacks the integrity to keep its word.”
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The Arizona Solar Energy Industries Association (AriSEIA) is a nonprofit trade organization dedicated to advancing solar, storage, and electrification across Arizona. AriSEIA advocates for fair and equitable energy policy, promotes economic development through clean energy investment, and works to ensure that Arizona remains a competitive, reliable, and innovative energy leader.

Media Contact:
Autumn Johnson
Executive Director, AriSEIA
[email protected]
(520) 240-4757