Overview
- Attorney General Kris Mayes on Monday asked the governor and lawmakers to enact a moratorium on new data‑center approvals, focusing especially on large hyperscale AI projects she says should be paused until impacts are studied.
- Mayes cites climbing utility rate requests and has intervened in Arizona Public Service’s pending rate case because utilities plan to build power plants and transmission lines that she says may be paid for by residential customers.
- Local pushback is already slowing projects: Pinal County’s supervisors last week voted down a rezoning for a large data center, and developers face heated hearings in Ahwatukee and Glendale.
- Her office points to a 2025 Ceres analysis that says planned Phoenix‑area centers could raise data‑center water demand by more than 450% and an ASU study showing nearby temperatures can rise up to four degrees Fahrenheit.
- No statewide moratorium exists because only the Legislature can impose one; Mayes has scheduled a town hall in Ahwatukee for Oct. 14 and the fight is likely to hinge on rate cases, local zoning votes, and what the January legislative session decides.