SRP has been comparing two sites in canyons high above Apache Lake where it could build a new reservoir that would function like an electric battery, releasing water through a hydropower dam and into Apache Lake when electricity is needed for SRP customers in the Phoenix area.

SRP would use surplus power on the grid, likely from solar plants, to pump water from Apache Lake about 1,000 feet back up the mountains to refill the 100-200 acre reservoir.

Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., introduced a bill that would allow for the project by extending land available for power projects for two additional miles on the south side of Apache Lake, where the two sites are being evaluated. Reps. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz. and Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., are cosponsors.

Both possible sites include U.S. Forest Service land that would be put under the control of the Bureau of Reclamation for the project. The legislation excludes land in Tonto National Monument or the Superstition Wilderness from the area to be impacted.

The House Natural Resources Committee passed H.R. 1607 on Wednesday by unanimous consent.

It now awaits a full vote by the House of Representatives. Sens. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., introduced companion legislation in the Senate.

"This will increase the supply of affordable and reliable energy in central Arizona," Schweikert said in a written statement after the vote. "With our state's economy and population rapidly growing, it's absolutely critical that we embrace long-term domestic technologies to ensure lower utility costs for our local communities."

Stanton referenced recent power demand records breaking in Arizona amid the heat wave as a reason to support the project.