TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — When the power goes out, getting it back on isn't as simple as flipping a switch.
Inside Tucson Electric Power's control room, operators monitor the grid around the clock, working to identify outages, direct crews and restore electricity as quickly, and safely, as possible.
TEP's Manager of Distribution System Control, Lonnie Chapman, says when customers lose power, the first clues often come from people experiencing the outage.
"The more people that call in, the predictive system takes all that information and predicts what the most common point of failure is, so that we know where to send our troubleshooter, and we don't have to figure that out manually," Chapman said.
Once crews locate the damage, operators can isolate the affected equipment and, in many cases, reroute electricity so thousands of customers have power restored while repairs continue.
"We're able to switch on the distribution system to restore the largest number of customers that we can," Chapman said.
As temperatures climb, so does electricity demand. TEP says it set its all-time peak demand on Aug. 6, 2025, at 2,502 megawatts, when Tucson reached 111 degrees—and that record hasn't been topped yet.
To help meet that demand, TEP has 10 natural gas-powered RICE generators. Together, Chapman says they generate about 200 megawatts of electricity, and each unit can support roughly 40,000 homes.
"The great thing about the RICE engines is we can turn all 10 of them on and be up to full output within under a minute. So, they're very fast acting, and then we can adjust them as needed," Chapman said.
In other words, if a storm knocks down a power pole, crews still have to repair that equipment before service can be restored.
The generators help ensure there's enough electricity available across the system while those repairs are underway or when demand suddenly spikes.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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Jacqueline Aguilar is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9. Born and raised in Yuma, AZ., she is no stranger to the unforgiving Arizona heat. Now this U of A wildcat is excited to be back in Tucson and is looking forward to involving herself in the community. Share your story ideas with Jacqueline by emailing jacqueline.aguilar@kgun9.com or connecting on Facebook, Instagram or X.
