While many businesses are starting to gear up for summer, TEP prepares all year to handle the season’s higher energy use and powerful storms.

TEP continually makes investments to ensure that our system is ready for summer, helping our commercial customers conduct business no matter the weather.

In 2022 alone, TEP spent more than $290 million to improve power lines, poles, transformers and other transmission and distribution equipment and systems used to deliver service to customers every day. The new infrastructure supports an increasing amount of solar and wind power generated by our resources.

“We work throughout the year to prepare for summer, when our customers’ energy needs are the greatest,” said David Wagner, TEP Director of Transmission & Distribution Line Construction and Metering.

Top-tier Reliability

Our investments have helped us provide top-ranked reliability for the past decade.

TEP tracks the average duration of power outages attributed to maintenance, equipment failure, weather and other factors with the System Average Interruption Duration Index, or SAIDI. Our 2022 SAIDI score improved to 61.8 minutes from 73.8 minutes in 2021 despite higher temperatures that increased usage during peak hours.

When issues do arise, TEP’s Commercial Account Managers are ready to support larger businesses, schools, nonprofit groups and government agencies. Our Customer Care team is available for any business customer who needs assistance.

“We know that the summer can pose challenges for our customers, so we stand ready to help them prepare for the unknowns related to extreme weather,” said Joe Cruz, Supervisor of Commercial Account Services.

Investments for Future

Some recent upgrades to our local energy grid include:

• New higher capacity transformers at the Canoa Ranch Substation, south of Green Valley.
• Accelerated replacement of older wood utility poles, including more than 100 near West Grant Road and Interstate 10.
• A local grid connection for our new Patriot Substation near East Escalante and South Kolb Roads. The substation is scheduled to be in service later this summer to support Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and other customers in the area.

Read a story about our summer preparations for more details about the projects.

Summer Storm Preparation

While these and other investments have improved our reliability, strong winds and lightning are unpredictable and can sometimes damage equipment. Our employees work around the clock to respond and make repairs quickly when outages occur.

Businesses can take steps to keep customers, employees and equipment safe from the unpredictable weather – and prepare before the monsoons begin. When interruptions happen, businesses can report outages and keep up to date on TEP’s outage map.

“Knowing how to manage potential outages becomes critical during the summer for your workplace,” Cruz said. “Our team is here to help with any energy needs that arise.”