The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:
Barbara Liguori
Tucsonans have a golden opportunity to help advance the city’s Climate Action and Adaptation Plan through the city’s continuing negotiations with TEP on its franchise agreement, due for renewal in 2026. Public voting approval is required for any city-negotiated franchise agreement.
In May 2023, Tucson voters rejected a proposed 25-year franchise agreement that would have charged TEP customers about $1 per month to pay for nearly 4 miles of underground utility line along Campbell Ave. There was no citizen input, no significant climate mitigation, and scant information before the proposition was put on the ballot.
TEP currently services approximately 250,000 customers. In 2024 it delivered only about 13.8% (up from 13.2% in 2023) of its electricity from renewable-energy sources. Of that amount, 6.5% was produced in utility-owned facilities; the remainder was purchased. The rest came from power plants running on fossil fuels (coal-fired, 24.3%; gas-fired, 69.1%).
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Historically, franchise agreements have included stipulations regarding the utility’s right of way to install and maintain electrical infrastructure without requiring city permits for every project. Recently, however, cities such as Minneapolis, San Diego, Salt Lake City, and Denver have either incorporated energy objectives into their franchise agreements or signed legally binding parallel agreements including such items as renewable energy projects, EV charging infrastructure, carbon pollution and emissions targets, energy rates, undergrounding infrastructure, energy resilience, joint development of options for increased renewable energy use by the community, and equity programs for rooftop solar.
Through its franchise agreement, San Diego successfully negotiated the equivalent of a climate fund the city can access for climate mitigation and adaptation projects. It’s a model that aligns neatly with Tucson’s CAAP.
According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, as quoted in the online publication of the International City/County Management Association, “a total of 467 cities (13 percent of cities in the data set) were identified to have either adopted franchise agreements or a franchise-related agreement with one or more energy-related objectives.”
Now, more than ever, we require an agreement that balances the citizens’ priorities with those of TEP, whose profits increase with rising temperatures and the consequent increased demand for air conditioning. Tucson recently set yet another new record — the earliest day in the year on which the temperature reached triple digits. And in 2024 Tucson had a record-breaking 109 days of 100-degree temperatures, according to the National Weather Service. The progression of longer, hotter seasons will not abate until we stop producing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; the power produced for our use in Tucson accounts for the second greatest amount of GHGs after that due to transportation. TEP must be incentivized to reduce these emissions and help the city respond to the warming world its product has helped create.
Current proposals introduced by the Greater Tucson Climate Coalition include a TEP franchise term of 5 years with renewals in 5-year increments based on attainment of performance goals, which would be reviewed by a committee of city, utility, and community experts; payment of the franchise fee from shareholders’ equity, not by ratepayers, as is currently the case [itemized as a 2.5% “City Franchise Fee” on TEP bills, which is remitted to the city, and matched by a 2.5% “Public Utility Tax”]; and a TEP investment of $40M in shareholder funds to support carbon emission reductions, public safety and emergency preparedness, and energy efficiency both in TEP’s energy production and in City of Tucson and community-wide goals.
What can you do?
Provide input to the city council and staff or attend a city council meeting and speak during the “call to the audience.” This is our chance to further our climate goals of shifting to renewable energy and achieving carbon neutrality by showing public support for the city to fight hard for our future by producing an equitable franchise agreement.
Follow these steps to easily submit a letter to the editor or guest opinion to the Arizona Daily Star.
Barbara Liguori is a longtime Tucson resident, a freelance copy editor, and a member of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby. She has an MS in analytical chemistry and is striving toward a climate-resilient future.
