THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC
Power up!
FYI re APS and SRP BY ALISON STANTON
P
eople who live in the Phoenix metropolitan area have two primary providers for their electric service: APS and SRP. Where residents live will determine which company supplies their power. It’s a little tricky, but generally speaking (and there are plenty of caveats; see links to service area maps at the end of this article), the western, northern and northeast areas of Phoenix and the Valley are serviced by APS, while parts of Phoenix, Glendale and Peoria as well as many East Valley cities have SRP. For anyone who is buying or building a home in the Valley, be sure to check with the builder, real estate agent or with either of the utility companies to verify which one services a particular community.
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C R E AT E D B Y R E P U B L I C M E D I A C U S T O M P U B L I S H I N G
Interesting histories
Both APS and SRP have interesting histories. Damon Gross, a spokesperson for APS, said that at one time, the company was an electricity and gas utility. “In the mid-80s, APS decided to focus on just the electricity utility part of the company and the gas utility became Southwest Gas,” he said, adding that APS still has employees who were once in the gas utility side of the company. Gross said that many years ago there were numerous electricity utilities. “Over the years, APS and its predecessor company began to acquire many of the smaller companies,” he said. “We realized that we would have greater efficiencies by serving more
customers, and the best way to get the best value was by serving as many people as possible.” Jeff Lane, media relations representative for SRP, said that SRP got its start in 1903 when settlers who were challenged by the harsh desert environment formed the Salt River Valley Water Users’ Association and pledged more than 200,000 acres of their land as collateral for a government loan to build a massive water storage and delivery system. SRP is now two companies, Lane said: the Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District, a political subdivision of the state of Arizona; and the Salt River Valley Water Users’ Association, a private corporation. “The District provides electricity to retail customers in the Phoenix area. It operates or participates in seven major power plants and numerous other generating stations, including thermal, nuclear and hydroelectric sources.”
Who serves whom?
“If you look at the service territory map, the way our service territory is laid out may not make sense to some,” Gross said. “But APS started as a supplier of manufactured gas to light street lights and then added electricity as a service later on. So we were typically in the centers of town where the street lights were located. Downtown Phoenix, downtown Glendale — you name it
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and we were there. As the Valley has grown, we have also grown with it.” In 1955, Lane said, SRP and APS signed agreements that established a viable operating relationship between the two entities. “The SRP/APS Territorial Agreement resulted in a dynamic, integrated power generation and transmission system for the greater Phoenix metropolitan area,” he said. “The 1955 agreement clarified boundary locations that are still in existence today.”
What’s the difference?
Both APS and SRP have good reliability and good customer satisfaction ratings, Gross said. “The rates between both companies are comparable, and although there is a different structure to each, the value that we each offer is excellent,” Gross said. “Our rates are similar or among the better rates in the west. For example, someone who is moving to Arizona would find better rates here than in California.”
Number of customers Today, Lane said, SRP is the largest provider of water and power to the greater Phoenix metropolitan area, serving about 950,000 electric customers in Maricopa, Pinal and Gila counties. “APS is the largest power provider in the state, serving more than one million electric customers,” he noted.
APS
SRP
Customer service: 602-371-7171 Website: aps.com Service area map: aps.com/ images/pdf/PHX_Map.PDF
Customer service: 602-236-8888 Website: srpnet.com Service area map: srpnet.com/ about/pdfx/electricservice areamap.pdf
Q:
How does a heat pump keep a house both cool in the summer and warm in the winter?
A:
An electric heat pump is essentially a central air conditioning system that has the ability to work in reverse and heat your home during Sissie Shank cold weather months. It does not convert electricity to heat; it absorbs warmth from one area, multiplies it and transfers it to another area. It is called a ‘heat pump’ because it pumps heat into your home in winter, and it can also reverse the refrigerant cycle to pump heat out of your home in the summer, which then cools the inside of your home. It heats, cools and dehumidifies, as well as circulates and filters the air, eliminating stuffiness. While the heat pump loses efficiency as the weather gets colder, it is ideal for climates like Phoenix and Tucson. Heat pumps are safer to operate than gas furnaces and less expensive than electric furnaces, as well as being friendly to the environment. Overall, the heat pump is a very economical and efficient home comfort system. Source: Sissie Shank, President of Chas Roberts Air Conditioning & Plumbing
If you have a new-home-related topic you’d like us to research, please write to editor: Paula Hubbs Cohen, Paula.Cohen@cox.net.
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