APS 2012 Annual Report Download - page 34

10
Natural Gas and Oil Fueled Generating Facilities
APS has six natural gas power plants located throughout Arizona, consisting of Redhawk,
located near the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station; Ocotillo, located in Tempe; Sundance, located
in Coolidge; West Phoenix, located in southwest Phoenix; Saguaro, located north of Tucson; and
Yucca, located near Yuma. Several of the units at Saguaro and Yucca run on either gas or oil. APS
has one oil-only power plant, Douglas, located in the town of Douglas, Arizona. APS owns and
operates each of these plants with the exception of one oil-only combustion turbine unit and one oil
and gas steam unit at Yucca that are operated by APS and owned by the Imperial Irrigation District.
APS has a total entitlement from these plants of 3,389 MW. Gas for these plants is acquired through
APS’s hedging program. APS has long-term gas transportation agreements with three different
companies, some of which are effective through 2024. Fuel oil is acquired under short-term purchases
delivered primarily to West Phoenix, where it is distributed to APS’s other oil power plants by truck.
Solar Facilities
To date, APS has begun operation of 69 MW of utility scale solar through its AZ Sun Program,
discussed below. These facilities are owned by APS and are located in multiple locations throughout
Arizona.
Additionally, APS owns and operates more than forty small solar systems around the state.
Together they have the capacity to produce about 4 MW of renewable energy. This fleet of solar
systems includes a 3 MW facility located at the Prescott Airport and 1 MW of small solar in various
locations across Arizona. APS has also developed solar photovoltaic distributed energy systems
installed as part of the Community Power Project in Flagstaff, Arizona. The Community Power
Project, approved by the ACC on April 1, 2010, is a pilot program through which APS owns, operates
and receives energy from approximately 1.5 MW of solar photovoltaic distributed energy systems
located within a certain test area in Flagstaff, Arizona. Additionally, APS owns 7 MW of solar
photovoltaic systems installed across Arizona through the ACC approved Schools and Government
Program.
Purchased Power Contracts
In addition to its own available generating capacity, APS purchases electricity under various
arrangements, including long-term contracts and purchases through short-term markets to supplement
its owned or leased generation and hedge its energy requirements. A portion of APS’s purchased
power expense is netted against wholesale sales on the Consolidated Statements of Income. (See Note
18.) APS continually assesses its need for additional capacity resources to assure system reliability.
Purchased Power Capacity – APS’s purchased power capacity under long-term contracts,
including its renewable energy portfolio, is summarized in the table below. All capacity values are
based on net capacity unless otherwise noted.