Following multiple recent power outages across the San Carlos Irrigation District, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said the federal government should do more to provide reliability to thousands of customers.
“Arizonans are reporting repeated hours-long outages in potentially deadly summer heat. These outages are a stunning failure of federal oversight and accountability,” said Attorney General Mayes. “The federal government has an obligation to consistently provide safe, reliable electric service to SCIP’s 13,000 customers. My office is evaluating all options to address this situation.”
ABC15 has been covering SCIP power issues reported by customers for almost a year.
Dozens of people reached out in recent weeks saying that the outages and surges are continuing in the scorching summer heat.
“If there’s a cloud in the sky or if it’s a windy day, your power is going to go off,” Mammoth resident Annie Martinez said. “We need reliable power. We feel like we’re a third world country in the middle of the United States of America. It’s insane.”
Last year, Mayes wrote a letter to the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Department of the Interior, urging them to fix SCIP’s reliability issues.
“It has been nearly a year since I first called for the federal government to address the ongoing, well-documented issues with SCIP’s electric service. I went to Washington D.C. to meet with the Department of the Interior about this issue. Yet, the situation at SCIP has only worsened,” said Attorney General Mayes. “Power outages remain frequent and prolonged, bills are still unreasonably high, and thousands of Arizonans are suffering through life-threatening summer heat without consistent electricity.”
SCIP acknowledged Mayes statements Monday, saying they remain committed to ensuring reliable electric service to customers.
“The outages in question were the result of severe weather events on July 2–3, during which Pinal County was under flash flood warnings. The area experienced high winds and heavy rainfall, causing extensive damage to the system. SCIP lost 33 69kV transmission poles across two separate sections of the grid, all tied to a single circuit. In response, SCIP acted swiftly to restore service and replaced the damaged wooden poles with steel poles. These upgrades are part of SCIP’s long-term effort to strengthen infrastructure and improve system resilience during extreme weather events.”
