|
Community Participation and Accountability
APS and its employees devote a lot of time, energy and resources to helping make our community strong, healthy and vital.
That means we’re there to sponsor community events, to support Getting Arizonans Involved in Neighborhoods (GAIN) projects, to lend a helping hand to underprivileged families, to build community ball fields and to foster health initiatives in schools.
For example, APS and Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks share a winning partnership. APS, which has been a principal sponsor of the hometown D-backs since the team’s inception, has a special connection to the team. As such, APS and the Diamondbacks have teamed to build and dedicate nine lighted baseball fields in neighborhoods throughout Arizona. APS also partners with the International Brotherhood of Electric Workers (IBEW) to light the fields.
Thanks to the partnership with the Diamondbacks, APS has given away thousands of free tickets to Arizona youths and will again donate blocks of 40 or more tickets to deserving children for home games this season. The children are chosen from schools, YMCAs and Boys and Girls Clubs throughout the state.
We also support local charities, including the Valley of the Sun United Way. In 2003, APS and its employees exceeded previous company giving records, contributing $2.3 million to the United Way. APS matches employee contibutions by $.50 cents on the dollar. Employees also contributed more than 127,000 hours to 300 community-based projects in 2003. The company also makes a donation when employees volunteer 25 hours or more.
Line Siting and Construction Projects
With Arizona’s rapid growth, and to help prevent widespread outages like the one that crippled the entire east coast last summer, APS is proactively planning its transmission and distribution resources to accommodate the growth of the communities and multi-use developments dotting the landscape.
Arizona’s projected growth rate is between three and four percent annually, more than three times the national average. To meet our customers’ growing needs for reliable electricity and to prepare our company for future growth, APS initiated two power line and substation projects: the West Valley-North Facility Siting Project and the West Valley-South Facility Siting Project.
The West Valley-South Siting Project features three 230-kilovolt (kV), twelve 69-kV substations, and a network of power lines to connect these substations. The West Valley-North Project includes a new 230-kV power line and two new substations.
As part of the process, APS conducted environmental studies and extensive public outreach to identify sensitive areas with respect to the affected communities. APS also worked closely with local governments, individual developers and landowners on the final locations for these power lines and substations.
Late in 2003, the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) unanimously approved the West Valley-South project, granting the company a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility (CEC). The ACC approved the three new 230-kV substations and approximately 14 miles of new, double-circuit 230-kV power lines. Issuance of the CEC allows the company to proceed with construction activity. The process of conducting a siting study, gaining ACC approval, obtaining the necessary land rights and the actual construction of the facilities can take as long as five years to complete.
The line siting process takes into account many environmental factors, including existing and planned land uses, visual impacts, scenic views, historic and archaeological sites and biological resources.
Public Participation
At APS, we believe good corporate citizenship requires public participation.
We support our employees holding elected office in their communities and participating in forming sound public policy at local, state, national and international levels. APS employees are involved in policy discussions in many areas, including education, healthcare and the economy.
APS representatives also work to strengthen business alliances throughout the Phoenix metropolitan area, including the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC), Greater Phoenix Leadership (GPL), WESTMARC and the East Valley Partnership. In addition, we are involved in the Valley Business Council, which consists of representatives from all the Phoenix-area chambers of commerce.
The Greater Phoenix Business Leadership Coalition, was formed in November 2001 as a collaborative effort among the region’s business leadership to build and sustain a robust economy, a healthy environment and a quality lifestyle for the region and the state. The group promotes economic development, travel and tourism, transportation, education, federal economic policy, and tax and fiscal policy. APS is an active participant in this coalition
Our vice presidents of Government and Federal Affairs give APS and Pinnacle West a voice in the law-making process at all levels, focusing on areas such as air quality, education, energy and transportation. APS supports climate change policies which ensure energy and economic vitality while transitioning to less carbon intensive fuels. Examples of the company’s efforts to address this issue are discussed in the Climate Change section of this report.
Pinnacle West Public Affairs is active in alliances with governors, legislative leaders, trade groups and associations in the West, which focus on western-specific issues. Examples include West Connect, West Associates, Western Business Roundtable and the Western Regional Air Partnership.
|
