As days cool, APS can cut power to late payers

A moratorium on electric utility shutoffs is ending, and companies such as Arizona Public Service Co. once again can cut off power to customers who don’t pay their bills.

A moratorium on electric utility shutoffs is ending, and companies like Arizona Public Service Co. once again can cut off customers who don’t pay their bills.

APS says it will not shut off the tens of thousands of customers with bad debt this week, instead enrolling them in a four-month payoff plan. Should they not make payments, the lights will go out.

Utility regulators in June passed a moratorium on regulated electric companies that prohibited power shutoffs for nonpayment. It ended on Tuesday.

Regulators passed the moratorium after learning a woman died last year after APS cut off her power because she was late on her bills.

APS voluntarily stopped disconnections before the moratorium was imposed when news broke of the customer fatality.

About 88,000 APS customers are late on their bills and they owe the company $30.6 million, according to a report the company filed recently with regulators. That dollar figure is about three times what it was a year ago when there was no moratorium on disconnections.

APS has been sending mailers and calling customers encouraging them to pay now that the moratorium is ending. The number of delinquent customers actually dropped by about 11,000 in the past few weeks as APS stepped up customer communication on the matter.

“Customers will need to stay current both on their payment arrangement and any new charges, and I can’t emphasize enough the importance of them reaching out,” said Annette Carrier, APS program manager.

Customers who owe the company more than $300 in overdue bills automatically will be put on a four-month plan to pay off the debt.

They will see one-fourth of their debt automatically added to their next monthly bill. About 32,000 of the customers with overdue bills fall into that category, Carrier said.

If those customers don’t will be subject to a shutoff.

Carrier said that APS has added several “touch points” such as calls and mailers with customers to ensure they get the message that they are subject to a shutoff before one actually occurs and that it could be about 50 days between their payment being late and the power being cut.

Carrier said APS would like to speak with customers who need more time to pay their debt to ensure they know about what community resources are available to help them.

“We have to do everything we can to help our customers,” Carrier said. “We pay, they

Meanwhile, the Arizona Corporation Commission continues to consider new rules for regulated electric, gas and water utilities for when they are allowed to shut off people for nonpayment and what procedures they must use.

The Corporation Commission staff is working on the rewrite of the rules, and the issue has proved to be controversial.

Initially, the staff proposed banning all shutoffs when the outside temperature exceeded 95 degrees, but after hearing from utilities, that proposal was bumped to 105 degrees.

“Temperature impacts customers differently based on a variety of circumstances, including location, humidity, wind, time of year, and duration of heat,” the Grand Canyon State Electric Cooperative Association wrote in comments on the proposed rule.

The association represents electric cooperatives serving rural communities.

APS’s comments on the proposal said customers could be confused by a 95-degree threshold for disconnections that is based on five-day weather forecasts, which could leave them unclear as to whether they are subject to disconnect or not.

APS said the final rules should “recognize that ultimately any unpaid costs for electricity and services provided will be borne by all customers.”

Consumer groups such as AARP believe 105 is too high and that 95 degrees was a better proposal.

Some electric companies are not regulated by the Arizona Corporation Commission and therefore were not subject to the moratorium or the commission’s disconnection rules, the biggest among them being Salt River Project. The state also has several electrical districts and municipal utilities not covered by the commission action.

That has consumer activists and some lawmakers suggesting the state needs a law about disconnections to ensure the policies are uniform across the state.

Multiple fatalities known

Amid the regulators’ inquiry into the issue, APS revealed that it has twice been sued in the past decade when customers died after their power was cut because they didn’t pay their bills.

One woman whose power was cut in June last year was found dead in her home in July, and another woman was found dead in December 2011 after APS cut her power in November of that year, according to a letter APS filed with the Arizona Corporation Commission.

APS said the company settled with the victims’ estates in both cases but didn’t say for how much. APS did not identify the customers or how much they owed.

In addition, a Sun City West woman died last year after her service was shut off. Records indicate that woman paid $125 two days before the electricity was shut off, but that was $52 short of her delinquent debt and far short of her total bill.

SRP also reported that two customers died in a home last year when the power was cut, although one appears to have died before the shutoff and the other after.

SRP also had a customer die in south Phoenix that was detailed by The Arizona Republic in 2017. The medical report for Henry Venzor Magos, 61, indicated heat as a contributing factor in his death.

Where to get help

Customers who are behind on their bills can get help from several places.

APS offers a 25% monthly discount depending on income.

APS also offers a 35% monthly discount for life-sustaining medical equipment such as breathing machines or heart monitors. Applicants can call 800-253-9405.

Customers might qualify for $300$600 in crisis assistance through the SHARE program. The Salvation Army administers the program. Call 602-2674127 or visit https://www.salvation armyphoenix.org/family-services.

Also available for some is $400 in crisis assistance from Wildfire, at 602604-0640 or at https://wildfireaz.org.

That assistance can also be requested through Chicanos Por La Causa at 602-618-1974 and www.cplc.org/utility or St. Vincent de Paul at 602-850-6948 and https://www.stvincentdepaul.net/ programs/homelessness-prevention.

The federal LIHEAP program offers $800-1,300 to cover a current or late bill depending on salary. Apply by calling Wildfire at 602-604-0640.