Guest ContributorAt the recent Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry 2025 Energy Summit, utility executives, energy providers, policymakers, and advanced manufacturing leaders gathered for an in-depth discussion on the state’s energy future. The program featured panels on grid leadership, Arizona’s evolving power supply, advanced manufacturing, and energy-driven economic development, along with remarks from U.S. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin.
In his video message, Zeldin outlined the Trump administration’s sweeping deregulatory energy agenda, framing the EPA’s work as essential to meeting surging national demand. “Power demand is skyrocketing,” Zeldin said. “Data centers supporting AI alone will consume nearly 10% of U.S. electricity supply within 10 years. That’s up from just about 3–4% today. We need all the American energy we can produce and the infrastructure to deliver it.”
He cast EPA’s current posture as a dramatic reversal from the regulatory approach of prior administrations. “At the Trump EPA, we’re advancing American energy dominance through historic deregulatory actions,” he told attendees. “In one year, we will do more deregulation than entire federal governments have done across all agencies throughout entire presidencies.”
Zeldin highlighted several major regulatory rollbacks underway, including “rescinding the 2009 Obama Endangerment Finding, removing over $1 trillion in regulatory burden from the American economy” and proposals to repeal “the so-called Clean Power Plan, and other Biden era rules that sought to strangulate out of existence entire segments of our energy economy.”
He also emphasized actions taken following his spring visit to Arizona. “When I visited Arizona in March, I met with your business community and legislative leadership and heard a unified call to action. We got to work immediately,” Zeldin said. He pointed to EPA’s April decision to remove prior 179B guidance, which he argued created an unfair burden for states dealing with foreign air pollution. “EPA intends to work with state and local air agencies to develop the evidence necessary to grant regulatory relief,” he said, adding that the agency is “helping states across our nation prosper while ensuring they continue to provide clean air for their residents.”
Zeldin also touted new EPA guidance allowing companies to begin construction on major projects without delays tied to federal air-permitting processes. He noted the repeal of compliance requirements for fossil fuel power plants under Section 111 of the Clean Air Act, a move he said could save “up to $19 billion in regulatory costs over two decades.”
The administrator tied national energy strategy directly to Arizona’s infrastructure needs, highlighting the Trans-Western Pipeline Expansion Project as a model of the administration’s permitting reforms. The expansion, he said, “will enhance Arizona’s natural gas capacity, securing America’s energy future by unleashing American energy.”
Zeldin closed by framing the administration’s policy direction as both pro-growth and pro-environment. “The Trump EPA will continue to prove that America can be energy dominant, create good-paying jobs, grow our economy, and protect our environment. It’s not a binary choice,” he said. “Energy dominance is our mission. And we’re delivering the regulatory certainty Arizona and other states across the nation need to help power the great American comeback.”
Utility leaders bullish
In one of the day’s most engaging discussions, APS President and CEO Ted Geisler, SRP General Manager and CEO Jim Pratt, and Chamber President and CEO Danny Seiden underscored the strength of Arizona’s collaborative energy ecosystem. The three emphasized that the close working relationships among the state’s major utilities and their shared commitment to affordability and reliability form a foundation for the state’s economic success. They expressed strong support for Arizona’s current regulatory model, describing it as stable, predictable, and essential for long-term investment. All three leaders voiced optimism about Arizona’s economic trajectory and the state’s ability to meet rapidly growing energy needs through coordinated planning, innovation, and infrastructure investment.
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