Arizona Power Authority

What Arizona Power Authority does

Arizona Power Authority is a state government agency and body corporate and politic, established by the Arizona Legislature on May 27, 1944, under the Power Authority Act. The Authority's statutory mandate is to acquire and market Arizona's share of hydroelectric power developed from the mainstream of the Colorado River, which it does by receiving and then marketing Arizona's allocation of Hoover Dam capacity (Schedule A and B) and energy (Schedule C) to qualified preference customers under a June 1987 Electric Service Contract with the Western Area Power Administration.

The Authority's core product is the wholesale marketing and scheduling of Hoover Dam hydroelectric power, leveraging over 2,000 MW of federal capacity and a yearly average generation of 4.5 billion kilowatt-hours to serve 39 preference customers consisting of Arizona cities and towns, irrigation and electrical districts, and the Central Arizona Water Conservation District. Transmission is coordinated through WAPA, and the Authority itself does not own or operate generation assets — its role is passthrough marketing, scheduling, billing, and contract administration rather than power production.

The Authority operates as a self-supporting entity that does not receive state general fund appropriations and is prohibited from incurring obligations binding upon the State of Arizona. Revenue is generated through wholesale electricity sales to preference customers on a recurring long-term contract basis, with rates set at the lowest possible levels consistent with sound business principles. The Authority is governed by a five-member commission appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the State Senate, and operates with a lean staff of approximately 11 employees out of its Phoenix headquarters at 1810 W. Adams Street.

Name

Arizona Power Authority

Legal name

Arizona Power Authority

Website

https://powerauthority.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1944

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Arizona Power Authority is a state government agency that markets and schedules Arizona's allocation of Hoover Dam hydroelectric power to 39 wholesale preference customers, including cities, irrigation and electrical districts, and the Central Arizona Water Conservation District.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wholesale Hydroelectric Power Marketing

NAICS

Hydroelectric Power Generation (221111), Electric Power Transmission, Control, and Distribution (22112)

SIC

Electric Services (4911)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Power Districts & State/Provincial Utilities (EUADABAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Hydropower Operations, Maintenance & Refurbishment (R&M/Life Extension) (EUACAEAG), Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) / Municipal Aggregation Retail Supply (EUAGABAF)

Keywords

• Wholesale electricity marketing
• Hydroelectric power distribution
• Public power authority
• Preference power customers
• Power scheduling services

Headquarters

HQ city

Phoenix

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Wholesale Electricity Sales: Arizona Power Authority generates revenue through the sale of hydroelectric power from Hoover Dam on a wholesale basis to qualified preference customers in Arizona. The Authority has an Electric Service Contract dated June 1987 with Western Area Power Administration to receive Arizona's allocation of Schedule A and B power and C energy from Hoover Dam, which is then marketed to 39 power customers.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Arizona Power Authority markets and schedules Arizona's allocation of hydroelectric power from the Hoover Power Plant at Hoover Dam to 39 wholesale preference customers consisting of cities and towns, irrigation and electrical districts, and the Central Arizona Water Conservation District. The Authority operates under an Electric Service Contract dated June 1987 with Western Area Power Administration to receive and resell Schedule A and B power and Schedule C energy. No retail or consumer sales are conducted; all revenue is derived from wholesale electricity sales to qualified preference customers.

Product overview

Arizona Power Authority is a single-product government utility authority that manages and markets Arizona's allocation of hydroelectric power from Hoover Dam. The organization does not operate a software platform or SaaS product; its core offering is wholesale electricity procurement, scheduling, and billing services for preference customers in Arizona.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hoover Dam Power Marketing and Scheduling Wholesale marketing and scheduling of Arizona's allocation of Hoover Dam hydroelectric power to 39 preference customers including cities, towns, irrigation and electrical districts, and the Central Arizona Water Conservation District, under an Electric Service Contract with Western Area Power Administration.

Quantifiable outcome

• Serves nearly 8 million people with electricity in Arizona, southern California, and southern Nevada

Named customers3 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Bureau of ReclamationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Bureau of Reclamation owns and operates Hoover Dam and the Boulder Canyon Project. APA receives its power allocation through federal contracts with the Bureau, which manages, develops, and protects water and related resources in an environmentally and economically sound manner.
• Western Area Power Administration - Desert Southwest RegioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWAPA is the federal agency responsible for transmission of federal power and administration of federal power contracts. APA has an Electric Service Contract dated June 1987 with WAPA to receive Arizona's allocation of Schedule A and B power and C energy from Hoover Dam.
• Central Arizona ProjectmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCAP delivers Colorado River water to Maricopa, Pinal and Pima counties through a 336-mile system of aqueducts. CAP is the largest single resource of renewable water supplies in Arizona and is a major customer of APA power.
• Colorado River Energy Distributors AssociationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCREDA is a non-profit organization representing consumer-owned electric systems that purchase federal hydropower and resources of the Colorado River Storage Project.
• Colorado River Water Users AssociationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCRWUA is a non-profit, non-partisan organization providing a forum for exchanging ideas on Colorado River use and management.
• Arizona Municipal Power Users AssociationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAMPUA is an association of consumer-owned electrical systems including cities, towns, rural electric cooperatives, special districts, and Indian utilities.
• Arizona Municipal Water Users AssociationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAMWUA facilitates municipal cooperation in securing and maintaining water and water rights for urban uses in Arizona.
• Arizona Department of Water ResourcesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerADWR safeguards public health by protecting, conserving, and enhancing Arizona's water supplies through innovative solutions and engagement with Arizona's water community.
• AgriBusiness & Water Council of ArizonaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerABWC is a not-for-profit trade association representing the entire agricultural community from 'ditch bank to dinner plate' in Arizona.
• Irrigation & Electrical Districts of ArizonamajorGTM or Marketing PartnerIEDA serves as a statewide association of public bodies involved in delivery of water and electricity to agricultural, municipal and industrial customers throughout Arizona.
• American Public Power AssociationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAPPA is the voice of not-for-profit, community-owned utilities that power 2,000 towns and cities nationwide.
• National Hydropower AssociationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerNHA is a nonprofit association dedicated exclusively to promoting the growth of clean, renewable hydropower and marine energy.
• National Rural Electric Cooperative AssociationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerNRECA represents America's electric cooperatives and works to empower co-ops and help ensure their long-term success.
• National Water Resources AssociationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerNWRA is a nonprofit federation of agricultural and municipal water providers, state associations, and individuals dedicated to water conservation and efficient management.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Salt River Project (SRP): SRP is an Arizona public power utility serving the Phoenix metropolitan area with hydroelectric and other generation. Commissioner John Sullivan served 45 years at SRP, and the two organizations share overlapping customer and water-power relationships in central Arizona.
• Bonneville Power Administration: BPA markets federal Columbia River hydropower under a similar wholesale marketing and scheduling model to investor-owned and public utilities in the Pacific Northwest. Like APA, BPA functions as a federal hydropower marketer with long-term preference customer contracts and is the closest functional analogue outside the Colorado River basin.
• New York Power Authority (NYPA): NYPA is a state public power authority that markets wholesale hydroelectric and other generation to municipalities, rural cooperatives, and industrial customers. It is the largest state public power organization in the U.S. and a clear structural analogue to APA in mandate, governance, and customer base.
• Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA): LCRA is a Texas public river authority that markets hydroelectric and other generation on a wholesale basis to municipalities and irrigation customers. It mirrors APA's model of a state-chartered public power marketer tied to Colorado River basin assets and serving preference customers.
• Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD): SMUD is a California community-owned public power utility serving a major metropolitan area with a renewable-heavy generation portfolio. It is a useful peer for understanding how public power utilities with hydropower exposure manage long-term supply and customer relationships.
• Central Arizona Project (CAP): CAP delivers Colorado River water through a 336-mile aqueduct system and is one of APA's largest wholesale power customers. The two organizations are tightly intertwined: CAP supplies water to many of APA's electrical district customers, and APA supplies power to operate CAP's pumps.
• Western Area Power Administration (WAPA): WAPA is the federal marketing agency that transmits federal hydropower and administers power contracts — including the 1987 Electric Service Contract with APA. WAPA and APA jointly execute the wholesale marketing of Hoover output, making it the closest operational peer in federal hydro marketing.

Broad incumbents

• Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA): TVA is a federal corporation that generates, transmits, and sells wholesale electricity across the Tennessee Valley. It is a much larger analogue of the federal/state public power marketing model that APA operates within at a single-dam scale.

Others

• Bureau of Reclamation: Bureau of Reclamation owns and operates Hoover Dam and the Boulder Canyon Project, allocating power to APA under a federal contract. It is APA's upstream counterpart and the source of APA's entitlement, making it the most important counterparty in APA's business model.
• Colorado River Energy Distributors Association (CREDA): CREDA is a non-profit association representing consumer-owned electric systems that purchase federal hydropower and Colorado River Storage Project resources. It is a partner organization of APA and serves the same preference customer archetype in the broader basin.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/arizona-power-authority

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Arizona Power Authority