Tucson, Ariz. – Tucson Electric Power’s 2026 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) describes a balanced approach for providing safe, reliable and affordable electric service over the next 15 years while supporting community growth and transitioning to cleaner energy resources.

The plan reflects a rapidly changing energy landscape that includes growing customer energy needs, changing regulatory policies, reliability challenges, new economic development opportunities and advancements in energy technologies. After evaluating several resource portfolios that considered resource, energy demand and policy scenarios, TEP selected the least-cost, technology-neutral portfolio designed to provide the best balance of reliability and affordability while delivering meaningful environmental benefits.

“Our customers expect energy that is safe, reliable, affordable and environmentally responsible. This balanced, cost-effective plan puts us on a path toward meeting those expectations,” said Susan Gray, Chief Executive Officer. “Our 2026 IRP reflects our commitment to keeping reliability and affordability front and center while progressing toward a cleaner energy future and supporting Southern Arizona’s growth.”

TEP’s resource planning process is focused on maintaining reliability amid extreme heat and increasing energy needs. The IRP calls for increased energy reserves and includes resource adequacy analyses designed to ensure sufficient energy and capacity resources are available under a wide range of operating conditions.

Customer affordability remains a critical consideration in TEP’s planning decisions. The preferred portfolio was projected to have the lowest cost while maintaining reliability requirements and delivering significant environmental benefits. Projected customer costs under the preferred portfolio are about $150 million to $260 million lower than other portfolios analyzed.

The plan describes TEP’s continued transition away from coal-fired generation with plans to convert Springerville Generating Station Units 1 and 2 from coal to natural gas in 2030, preserving 730 megawatts (MW) of critical dispatchable capacity while reducing carbon emission rates of those units by approximately 40 percent. TEP also plans to exit its ownership share of the Four Corners Generating Station in 2031, ending the company’s reliance on coal-fired generation.

TEP anticipates adding 680 MW of solar power, 680 MW of battery storage, and 300 MW of natural gas generation by 2041. Despite being developed without specific renewable energy requirements or environmental goals, the preferred portfolio is projected to reduce carbon emissions by more than 50 percent through 2041 compared to 2019. TEP expects to continue using its competitive all-source request for proposal process to evaluate resources based on reliability, cost and customer value as market conditions evolve.

In addition to the preferred portfolio, TEP evaluated high-load-growth scenarios to understand the resources and infrastructure needed to support economic development opportunities without shifting costs or creating reliability risks for current customers.

The preferred portfolio provides a foundation capable of supporting future growth while preserving flexibility to respond as conditions evolve. Additional portfolios evaluated as part of the IRP demonstrate that TEP can accommodate substantially higher levels of demand growth through additional resource procurement, transmission development and infrastructure investment.

TEP provides safe, reliable electric service to 457,000 customers in Southern Arizona and maintains one of the nation’s most reliable electric grids. For more than 130 years, TEP has invested in the energy infrastructure that powers homes, businesses, and community institutions while advancing toward a cleaner, more resilient energy future. Learn more at tep.com.

TEP and its parent company, UNS Energy, are part of Fortis Inc, a leader in the North American regulated electric and gas utility industry. For more information visit fortisinc.com.

News Media Contact:

J.D. Wallace
520-801-6392
jd.wallace@tep.com

Joseph Barrios
(520) 884-3725
jbarrios@tep.com