NewsBusiness

Actions

Arizona Corporation Commission votes to strengthen policies on power disconnection

Power lines.jpg
Posted at 8:52 AM, Apr 26, 2021
and last updated 2021-04-26 11:52:10-04

With summerlike heat already here and triple-digit temperatures around the corner, Arizonans are cranking up the air-conditioning in April.

As electricity use increases, some Arizona residents who struggle to pay their power bill risk being disconnected.

Last week, the Arizona Corporation Commission took further steps to avoid a tragedy like the one that befell 72-year-old Stephanie Pullman of Sun City West, who died from environmental heat exposure and cardiovascular disease in September 2018 after her power was disconnected by Arizona Public Service. Pullman owed $51 on her bill, Phoenix New Times reported.

Her death prompted the five-member commission – which oversees public utilities in the state – to enact an emergency moratorium in 2019 barring public utilities from disconnecting customers who were late on their bills from June 1 through Oct. 15. When the pandemic struck, Arizona’s regulated utility companies extended suspensions and disconnections for nonpayment through the end of 2020.

Read more from the Phoenix Business Journal.