Franchise agreements aren’t exactly dinner-table conversation. But Proposition 421 comes down to a few practical issues that affect reliability, affordability and community investment. Here are five things to know.

1. A franchise is a common agreement between a city and a utility.

A franchise agreement is not a license to operate. Instead, it establishes how a utility uses public streets and rights of way to provide service. Tucson Electric Power has operated under a franchise agreement with the City of Tucson for the past 25 years. Now we’re asking City of Tucson voters to approve another agreement, which are routinely used in communities across Arizona and throughout the country.

2. Prop 421 helps streamline routine work in public rights of way.

The franchise agreement extends our current framework for coordinating routine utility work with city officials. That coordination can help support timely repairs, equipment upgrades and infrastructure projects that keep our local energy grid operating reliably. Without a franchise agreement, individual permits for work in public rights of way could take longer to approve, potentially slowing projects and outage response efforts.

3. Prop 421 won’t increase your bills.

Whether Prop 421 is approved or rejected, total city-related charges that appear on TEP customer bills won’t change. Also, TEP will continue providing electric service within Tucson regardless of the election outcome.

4. The agreement provides new community benefits at no cost to customers.

Approval of Prop 421 will activate a companion agreement that provides new investments to support community priorities, including shade trees, heat resiliency improvements and programs that help customers use energy more efficiently. These investments would be funded by TEP and would not increase customer bills.

5. Reliable service remains the goal.

The agreement helps support efficient operations, including routine maintenance, system upgrades and outage response. By providing a clear framework for work in public rights-of-way, Prop 421 can help TEP maintain and improve the local energy grid that our customers rely on every day.