Apache County lands $10 million in grants to bolster Internet

SRP and Tucson Electric Power are involved because they seek to improve digital connections for the coal-fired Springerville Generating Station and soften the economic blow of the phased closure of the Coronado Generating Plant.

The news comes in the wake of investigations by the Arizona Corporation Commission and the Federal Communications Commission into outages in the region. The most recent two-day outage stemmed from a vandal with a shotgun blasting a fiberoptics cable on a pole.

The grant mirrors a $10 million Department of Commerce grant awarded last week to Navajo County, which plans to spend some $20 million in federal and state grant money to create a new “middle-mile” line from Holbrook to Show Low.

Rep. Tom O’Halleran, D-Oak Creek, welcomed the grant. He lobbied for the inclusion of $24 million in federal American Rescue Plan broadband grants for Congressional District 2.

“Rural and tribal communities in Arizona have struggled with outdated or nonexistent broadband for decades, leaving countless without access to the high-speed internet that is so often necessary for work, school and telehealth,” said O’Halleran. “Over the past few years, I’ve led the effort to secure historic investments in broadband infrastructure in rural and tribal communities, and I’m thrilled to see these funds awarded to some of our communities most in need.”

The Apache County project comes after a study suggested improving the speed and reliability of the internet in the rural region holds the key to future economic development.

“Broadband has been the No. 1 priority here in Apache County since I took office,” said Joy Whiting, county superintendent of schools.

Students in the region suffered big learning losses during the enforced shift to remote learning during the pandemic, since many families have no internet coverage at home.

“First and foremost, I would like to thank Gov. (Doug) Ducey and the Arizona Commerce Authority for their investment in rural Arizona. I also want to thank Celeste Robertson, the County Attorney’s Office chief deputy, along with County Manager Ryan Patterson, for their time spent discussing economic issues and making decisions on how to move forward as our communities transition out of coal,” said Whiting.

A study by Rounds Consulting Group funded by the two utility companies concluded that expanding broadband will create roughly 1,000 jobs in the region in the next decade. The upgraded broadband could increase the total volume of goods and services by $186 million, add $87 million in labor income and generate an additional $3.2 million in local tax revenues.

“The Apache County area has long struggled with reliable broadband access across its communities,” said Craig Larson, director of Coronado Generating Station at SRP. “This community continues to roll up their sleeves and look for viable economic paths forward beyond coal. They have helped influence much of this growth.”

SRP plans to shut down the coal-fired Coronado Power Plant before 2032 in a bid to reduce the release of heat-trapping carbon dioxide as solar and wind power become cheaper to operate than coal plants. The utility will shift to seasonal operations of two units at the plant next year as it phases out the power plant.

Studies suggest upgrading internet coverage remains the key to attracting new businesses, especially as the region loses mining and power plant jobs. In addition, schools, hospitals, police, universities, medical facilities and government agencies have all come to rely critically on a speedy, reliable internet.

The Commnet portion of the project will add connections for 11,000 residents at 4,100 homes in the county. The population of the county is about 70,000.

In addition, the upgraded system will likely connect to the expanded system in neighboring Navajo County as well as planned improvements on the Navajo Reservation.

Recent federal grants for broadband in the region include:

• Navajo County: $9,754,083
• Apache County: $9,725,424

• Heber-Overgaard: $4 million

• Coconino Project: $979,753

• Kearny: $417,228

• Safford: $63,000

O’Halleran noted, “In total, over $60 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding has been awarded for broadband projects in the district. Additional funding from the federal American Rescue Plan Act has been dedicated to building out the middle-mile network in rural Arizona, which enables last-mile connections to households and businesses. From funding received through the American Rescue Plan Act, the state has dedicated $168 million for middle-mile projects on I-17, I-19 and I-40 West.”

He said he expects the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will include additional broadband projects in the district.

Peter Aleshire covers state and county government and other topics for the Independent. He is the former editor of the Payson Roundup. Reach him at paleshire@payson.com