Significance of Pinal County
Northeast Pinal County is expected to be a major contributor to SRP's growth during the next 10 to 20 years. New generation located in the Pinal County area will provide important reliability benefits to SRP customers in northeastern Pinal County, Apache Junction, Gold Canyon, Queen Creek, San Tan Valley and a portion of Florence. (SRP serves all electric meters north of Arizona Farm Road).
In total, the area is about 360 square miles and currently is home to about 60,000 SRP electric customers. However, SRP anticipates that this area will grow significantly. In fact, estimates indicate that more than 400,000 new customers will be added in this area when it is fully built out.
It is important to locate new generation in or near the area of expected growth. In Pinal County, SRP has selected two sites for possible development of new generating stations. SRP is conducting a public process to obtain input on the sites.
Effect on property values
While it is not possible to accurately predict future property values, these studies suggest that the effect of power plant construction will be negligible:
- A study by a Tempe real estate appraisal firm determined that SRP's existing Santan Generating Station in Gilbert has had "no measurable impact on the value or marketability of homes" in the vicinity of the plant. Similarly, the study also concluded that the announcement of a plant expansion had no measurable impact on property values or marketability in the area.
- A study conducted in San Jose, Calif., found that the announcement of a new generating station had no significant impact on home prices or a home's time on the market.
Community benefits
SRP's Pinal County facilities will have both near- and long-term positive economic impacts. In the near term, the construction phase will provide the local economy with income from construction jobs. In the long term, a small staff will manage each facility. The facilities represent a substantial investment, with an accompanying boost to the local tax base.
The facilities also will 
contribute to smart growth by continuing to offer an affordable and reliable supply of electricity.
In addition, the plants will help anchor industrial areas that will encourage increased economic development by attracting more businesses, more jobs and providing more tax benefits to advance local efforts to achieve balanced growth.
Community involvement
The new facilities will bring many benefits including increased municipal revenues and new jobs. SRP is committed to meaningful community involvement and sustained participation. SRP will actively work with the communities in which the facilities are located to design and operate the plants to fully comply with all applicable environmental requirements and address neighborhood concerns.