SUN CITY WEST, AZ — A family is on a mission for change following the loss of their mother to extreme heat last year after APS shut off her power due to missed payments.
Temperatures soared to 102º in the days after 82-year-old Kate Korman's air conditioning was shut off by the utility company on May 13, 2024. The Sun City West woman was found dead six days later.
Kate's death was a private family tragedy for a year, until it suddenly wasn't. On April 24, Arizona Corporation Commission Vice-Chair Nick Myers posted on X that he was "sure the family doesn't want made public what we found" when it came to an investigation into Korman's death. That post caught the attention of Kate's son, Adam, who responded, kicking off a series of posts from Myers that ended with the key figure tasked with regulating APS blaming Kate's children for her death.
"I'm not just blaming your mom, I'm more blaming you for not looking out for your elderly mom," Myers wrote. "I refuse to tell utilities that they have to provide power to people that do not pay their bills. To be honest, I'm not even happy about many of the programs that they have in place to help, but I understand the need for them."
Myers went on in his posts to say that, "I don't feel it is a utilities [sic] responsibility to keep everyone alive," that Korman's death is "not a problem that the rest of society should shoulder," and that Kate's sons had "failed to protect their mother."
The posts have left both Adam and his brother Jonathan shaken up. The men, who live out of state, tell ABC15 their mother never told them she hadn't paid her APS bill, or that her air conditioning had been shut off.
"We did not understand that this happened because her power had been cut off until we arrived at her house and discovered how hot it was," Jonathan explained.
Jonathan says Myers's posts have restarted the grieving process.
"It's like the first day we knew all over again," he said, noting that this time, they were forced to grieve publicly.
The brothers had initially chosen to shield others from the details of Kate's death.
"We told our friends and family a comforting lie about how our mother died in her sleep, and that wasn't really true," Jonathan said. "She baked to death."
Myers claimed the A/C shutoff "was not the cause of death" for Kate. However, the official medical examiner's report says "environmental heat stress" contributed, caused by exposure to high temperatures. Her official cause of death is complications of chronic ethanolism.
"If her power had not been cut during 100º weather, she would not have died when and how she did," Adam wrote in a text. "I think in my exchange on X with Nick Myers, his words speak volumes about his character and interests. Instead of using his position of power to help prevent future heat-related deaths, he's more invested in attacking a grieving family."
On Wednesday afternoon, Myers released the following statement:
“I extend my heartfelt condolences to Ms. Korman’s family, friends, and loved ones during this difficult time. My comments on social media were intended to address my views on the current termination of service rules. I apologize for any harm my comments may have caused the family. That was not my intent. The views and opinions I expressed on my personal social media account were my own and not those of the Arizona Corporation Commission.”
Jonathan doubts the sincerity of the message.
"It sounds like he's embarrassed and he's got some kind of publicist telling him what to say," he said.
Less than 24 hours before Myers's apology, he wrote on X: "Living rent free in people's heads because you told the truth and they don't like it is proof that the old saying 'truth hurts' is still very valid."
That post remains up as of the posting of this article, along with the rest of his posts targeting the Kormans.
Jonathan is calling for utility companies to change their approach by basing shutoffs on temperature on not seasonal dates, and to make direct contact with customers before cutting power.
"People are upset about this, people are concerned," he said. "And I hope they stay concerned until we can create a change that protects people who are vulnerable."
APS says it contacted Kate ten times with past due and disconnect notifications, including through door hangs and by sending mail, after she stopped paying her bills in January 2024. The contacts included "details of assistance options and encouraged the customer to contact us." However, the company says it did not speak with her, either in person or over the phone, before shutting off her power.
APS adds that Kate did not contact the company at all at any time after January 2024. Jonathan said his mother likely did not understand that her power would be shut off, as she had the money to pay for her air conditioning during that period.
Below is APS's full statement:
"First and most importantly, this is a sad and complex situation, and our heartfelt sympathies go out to Ms. Korman’s family and friends. We care about the safety and wellbeing of our customers, and we are here to help them. Every customer’s situation is unique, and we encourage those who need help to reach out so we can connect them to assistance and resources.
We take extensive steps both to communicate with customers who don’t pay their bills and provide them with support. If a customer falls behind in payments, our customer notification practices exceed the requirements established by the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC). We make numerous attempts to let the customer know the status of their account and offer assistance through a variety of channels. Our records show this was true with this customer.
We regularly work with customers to find solutions to pay down their bill, including giving them more time to pay with flexible payment arrangements, as well as other programs listed below.
Specific to Ms. Korman:
- We did not receive any payments toward this account after January 2024.
- After then, and in line with established practices and rules regulated by the ACC, we communicated directly to this customer 10 times through email, phone, a physical door hanger and monthly bills.
- Past due and disconnect notifications also provided details of assistance options and encouraged the customer to contact us.
- We also communicated the day after power was disconnected to again urge the customer to contact us.
- Following these outreach attempts, our records show that we were not contacted by the customer regarding this account or outstanding payments.
Customer Support
For those customers who need assistance with their bill, APS has programs to help them monitor their account and provide financial help. For those who have vulnerable loved ones, like elderly parents, APS offers two programs that allow customers to authorize that individual to monitor their accounts by providing notifications if bills are unpaid, and allowing access to help, if needed:
- Safety Net – Safety Net [aps.com] partners will receive a copy of the monthly energy bill, so they know when payment is due and receive notifications if a payment is past due. Safety Net partners can also create a payment arrangement to give the customer more time to pay down a balance.
- Guest Roles – The Guest Role [aps.com] program expands the Safety Net program a bit, as it gives designated friends and family members permission to manage a customer’s online APS account. This can be limited to ‘view only’, ‘limited’, or ‘full access’, depending on the type of support needed.
We also have programs that provide financial support and other assistance for customers struggling to pay their bills:
- Tiered energy support discounts for qualifying customers. Customers with household incomes below 76% of the federal poverty level may be eligible for a 60% discount up to $165 off their energy bills per month.
- We offer flexible payment arrangements and bill assistance programs [aps.com] all year-long.
- We regularly meet and collaborate with consumer advocates and partner with 100+ regional local non-profits and agencies who help customers with utility bills and other services such as air conditioning repairs, to eviction protection (see more information below).
- We do outreach to customers in many ways, including bill inserts and on-bill messages, customer newsletters, emails, phone calls, postcards, social media, customer education through television, radio and digital channels, and posters/signage at community partner agencies to inform and educate on energy savings and assistance programs, including customers with past-due accounts, encouraging them to enroll in a payment plan.
- We work with community partners on additional summer heat-relief assistance. These programs are an effort to expand and broaden our state’s support network for those most vulnerable to extreme heat. They include an emergency shelter and eviction-protection program, and more cooling and hydration stations across the state.
- We do not disconnect residential service due to non-payment between June 1 and October 15 and we do not apply late fees during that time, under measures adopted by the ACC. As we approach the end of the moratorium, residential customers with a past-due balance of $75 or more are put on a one-time, automatic six-month payment arrangement. We take this step to help keep customers connected and provide more time to pay off the bill.
When not in the disconnect moratorium, customers who owe more than $300, and do not pay their current monthly charges and payment arrangement amount by the due date, may have their electric service disconnected; but only after we make many attempts to connect with the customer to see how we can help – as described earlier.
We worked with consumer advocates and the commission to determine the best way to implement the moratorium. A date-based heat season moratorium, which runs June 1 – October 15, is clearer and more predictable for customers across our diverse service territory. Temperatures can change day-to-day in certain seasons.
We want to emphasize that APS is here to help our customers and provide support. Our advisors are available 24/7 in English and in Spanish at (602) 371-7171 (metro Phoenix) or (800) 253-9405 (other areas)."
On Tuesday, May 6, Attorney General Kris Mayes requested the Corporation Commission to look into Korman's case. Below is the letter ABC15 obtained:
Dear Chairman Thompson, Vice Chair Myers, and Commissioners,
I have been following with great interest and concern the story of Kate Korman, an elderly woman and former Arizona Public Service Co. ("APS") customer who died in her home last May.
Maricopa County medical examiners determined "exposure to elevated temperatures" contributed to Ms. Korman's death.1 Ms. Korman's passing is part of the grim trend of seemingly ever-increasing, heat-related deaths across Arizona. The Arizona Department of Health Services estimates that in 2023, 460 people statewide died due to extreme heat exposure, and nearly another 1,000 died for heat-related reasons.
In 2024, at least 602 people died in Maricopa County due in part to extreme heat exposure, a 715% increase over ten years. The vast majority of the 138 people in Maricopa County that died indoors for heat-related reasons last year lacked functioning air conditioning. Crucially, these figures likely dramatically underestimate the actual human toll of extreme heat.
Read the rest of the full document below
