Utilities CEO apologizes for billing tool error

PHOENIX — The new head of Arizona’s largest electric utility apologized for a faulty bill calculator that was supposed to help customers find the cheapest rate plan but instead steered 10,000 of them to higher-priced options.

Arizona Public Service CEO Jeff Guldner told frustrated state utility regulators that the company fell short. APS executives pledged refunds to customers for the amount they overpaid plus an additional $25 for the inconvenience.

“I want to personally apologize to those customers who were affected by that error,” Guldner told the Arizona Corporation Commission. “It is our responsibility to do better and you have my commitment that we will do better.”

The billing problem is the latest in a series of missteps by the utility, which serves 1.2 million customers throughout much of Arizona. Last year, an elderly customer died when the company turned off her power because she was about $50 behind on her bill on a day temperatures reached 107 degrees.

The billing error incensed several members of the elected commission. They demanded that the company answer for how the problem happened, when APS discovered it, and how the public can be confident in the information the company issues in the future.

“For APS, these miscues seem to be the status quo and compounded by more bad news the next day,” said Commissioner Lea Marquez Peterson.

APS officials said the problem began in February but senior managers weren’t aware of it until November.

“The issue could and should have surfaced earlier,” Daniel Froetscher, executive vice president of operations for APS, acknowledged.

Guldner said he’s focused on adapting the company’s culture to improve its focus on customers and empowering employees to speak up when they see problems.