Utilities/Telecommunications - Greater Yuma Economic Development Corporation

Arizona Public Service Company (APS) is the premier energy service provider in the Southwest, locally serving San Luis, Somerton, Yuma and the outlying areas. With an average reliability rating of 99.1 percent, APS' performance is excellent compared to industry standards. Due to an agreement enacted by the Governor of the State of Sonora, Mexico, APS can provide electricity to production-sharing plants (twin plants or "Maquiladoras") located in San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora, Mexico. Most importantly, while many areas have seen rising energy costs, APS has dropped prices by 16 percent since 1994, saving customers more than $600 million.

Yuma County has an advantage when it comes to water availability. The Yuma area receives approximately 1.3 million acres (40 percent) of the state's allotment of Colorado River water, and uses wells supplying ground water. Yuma is allocated 50,000 acre-feet annually and currently uses approximately 17,000 net acre-feet or a yearly average of 16 million gallons per day. The city of Yuma's system has the capacity to deliver 40 million gallons of water per day. Therefore, Yuma can accommodate the water needs of residential and business growth without any worries or impacts to current customers.

Southwest Gas Corporation has been providing natural gas and energy services to Arizona and the Yuma community for more than 40 years and now services 18,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in Yuma County alone. In addition to distributing and delivering natural gas to its customers, the company provides technical consulting services, including energy expertise in air conditioning (HVAC), alternative energy forms, cogeneration, compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG), gas air conditioning and industrial process heating (boiler, oven, tanks).

Qwest has dedicated nearly $3 billion to build and upgrade a state-of-the-art communications network in Arizona, raising the sum of its gross investment in the state's infrastructure to almost $6 billion. The company also employs more than 8,500 in Arizona with a payroll exceeding $400 million annually.

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