Power grids in the Western United States are struggling. As temperatures increase and populations grow, so does the stress on systems that keep our electricity running.

For the West, electricity is most important in the hot summer months. It keeps our cool air-conditioners pumping.

Going without air conditioning for too long can be not only an annoyance, but also a major health risk, especially in states like Arizona with over 100-degree averages each summer.

A 2023 study by the Environmental Science and Technology journal showed that about half of Valley residents would need emergency medical care if a blackout occurred in the middle of the day.

Arizona has fewer outages than national average

But across the nation, blackouts are on the rise. The study also found that between 2016 and 2021, there was a 150% increase in power grid outages across the United States.

Despite this, Arizona is drastically below the national average when it comes to grid failures. In the last 24 years, the state has only had six outages due to extreme weather, according to Climate Central data.

Typically, a monsoon storm will cause power outages, according to Ashley Kelly, director of transmission operations and maintenance for APS.

APS services the majority of Arizona in energy distribution.

“Maintaining balance between how much you’re generating and how much your customers are using your energy is something that we do on a minute-by-minute basis. And so if there are disruptions, it’s normally because there’s an imbalance to that or a piece of equipment has gotten damaged,” she said.

Planning for the future

Overplanning is a way to stay ahead of any possible issues that could arise due to extreme heat, Tayla Beckham told Valley 101. She is the manager of real-time operations at APS.

This week on Valley 101, a podcast by The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, we’ll look into what makes Arizona’s power grid efficient and if it is prepared to withstand rising temperatures in the future.

Listen to the episode

Listen to Valley 101 on your favorite podcast app or stream the full episode below.

Submit your questions to us about metro Phoenix and Arizona for a chance to be chosen for the podcast.

Note: Valley 101 is intended to be heard, but we offer an AI transcript of the episode script. There may be slight deviations from the podcast audio.

Follow Valley 101 and all azcentral podcasts on X, formerly Twitter, and on Instagram.

Reach the reporter at aluberto@gannett.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @amandaluberto.

Catch up on past episodes of Valley 101:

With Brent Brennan taking over as head coach of the Arizona Wildcats, something that will need to be monitored going forward is how they are doing on the recruiting trail.

Moving into a Power 4 conference since departing San Jose State is a big step up for Brennan and his staff. While he might be able to outscheme teams on gameday, it will be imperative for him to stack highly-rated recruiting classes to ensure they have enough talent to compete in the Big 12 on a yearly basis.

2026 will be the first full cycle for this new regime after the change in leadership was announced on January 16, but they still have the opportunity to get some of their own targets committed in the class of 2025, while holding onto those who previous head coach Jedd Fisch landed.

All things considered, Arizona has been able to put together a good group.

Right now, they have commitments from 20 players and still have the chance to put the finishing touches on this cycle before national signing day in February 2025.

But where do the Wildcats currently rank compared to other teams in the Big 12?

Per On3’s Rankings, this is how everything stacks up.

1. UCF
2. TCU
3. Baylor
4. Texas Tech
5. Arizona State
6. Oklahoma State
7. West Virginia
8. Houston
9. Utah
10. ARIZONA
11. Kansas State
12. Cincinnati
13. Iowa State
14. Kansas
15. BYU
16. Colorado

As can be deciphered, they are in the bottom half of the conference in the 2025 cycle, but again, considering there was a head coaching change, that’s not a bad start to the Brennan era.

All 20 of their current commitments have an industry rating of three-stars.

Their highest-ranked recruit is 6-foot-4 wide receiver out of Texas, Terry Shelton, followed by California tight end Kellan Ford.

Based on who Arizona has landed, it’s clear they are targeting offensive players as 13 of their commits are on that side of the ball, including five wide receivers and two quarterbacks. On the defensive end, five of the seven are cornerbacks.

Right now, this should be considered a solid showing for Brennan and his staff.

Getting 20 three-star athletes into the program when they had to build relationships with many prospects late in the process is a good sign.

How they build upon this into the 2026 class and beyond will be seen, but they have to increase their recruiting profile if they want to be perennial contenders in the conference and on the national stage.

Arizona State Sun Devils ranking: 56/134

[Check out RJ Young’s ultimate 134 college football rankings here]

Conference ranking: 15th in Big 12 (+10000 to win conference)
Teams ahead of them: Texas State (55), Central Florida (54), Georgia Tech (53), Fresno State (52), Duke (51)
Teams behind them: Cincinnati (57), Virginia Tech (58), Western Kentucky (59), Coastal Carolina (60), South Carolina (61)

[Arizona State 2024 schedule]

RJ’s take: I’m a young man in college football. I tend to like my peers, and Kenny Dillingham is one of them. Any man who works his ass off the way he does — the way I do — I’ll bet on figuring it out, running it out and eventually whooping opponents up one side and down the other of any mountain.

Well, this is one such mountain for Dillingham. Jaden Rashada is gone. Drew Pyne is gone. Jalin Conyers is gone. 

But I like what’s left and what’s been brought in, including former National Gatorade Player of the Year Jake Smith, former Houston standout Alton McCaskill, former Oklahoma EDGE Clayton Smith, Texas-ex Troy Omeire and former five-star Raleek Brown joining Cam Skattebo on the offense.

Turn Jeff Sims into the kind of man who can take care of the football, earn the starting job and then roll out like the team that had Washington on the ropes with by-God Trenton Bourguet at QB. But that non-conference ain’t no gimme. Matter of fact, it looks like getting hit with the whammy: Wyoming, Mississippi State and Texas State before going into the teeth of a Big 12 schedule that features KU, K-State, Utah and Oklahoma State.

Tighten up, Kenny. Go put “devil” in Sun Devil.

Arizona State’s Win Total Odds: Over 4.5 (+135) Under 4.5 (-160)

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