Those residents having a tough time paying their power bill this summer and facing disconnection will get a bit of a reprieve.
Late last week, Arizona Public Service — Arizona’s largest electricity utility company — said it will temporarily suspend disconnections for residential customers who are behind on their payments and launch a review of its disconnection policies. A press release from APS said the utility company’s decision was driven by a number of factors, including:
- Reports of a 2018 customer death in which heat may have been a contributing factor after electricity service was disconnected.
- Recent public comments at Arizona Corporation Commission open meetings and conversations with community stakeholders about customer care and safety.
- The onset of summer heat.
“Our hearts go out to the family of the customer,” the APS release stated. “The safety of our fellow Arizonans is our top priority. We want all our customers to stay connected, especially during the summer.” Now through mid-July, APS will conduct a thorough review of its disconnection policies. APS stated it will bring together a group of community organizations, advocates for limited-income customers and other public agencies to work together on the best options to help customers keep their service connected.
“We go beyond the disconnect notice requirement, which is a one-time written notice, for customers who are at risk of disconnect for non-payment,” APS spokeswoman Jill Hanks told the Sedona Red Rock News. “We strive to work with customers to ensure they know their payment options.”
APS’ standard outreach to customers who are at risk of disconnect is the required notice in the form of either a bill message or letter followed by a phone call to the number on record with the account and then a door hanger at the address of service.
“In some cases, if we cannot complete that last outreach step, the disconnect date will be delayed up to a week to give customers more time to respond to our other outreach,” she said.
Customers will still be billed for energy usage during this suspension of disconnections and are responsible for paying their bills in a timely manner. Hanks said APS offers a number of assistance programs including payment arrangements, due-date extensions and bill support programs. There are also options for customers who may want to pick a preferred due date, set up auto payment or enroll in the Safety Net program, a resource for customers who may need extra help with bill reminders.
“Our goal is to keep service on and we want all of our customers to know they have options,” she said.
Hanks said disconnection procedures, which include things like communication, notification and weather triggers, will be discussed by the company during this 30-day period. In terms of the number of customers who see their power disconnected varies, but total disconnections for non-payment average between 70,000 and 90,000 per year. “Many of those disconnections happen on the same account, so the number of unique customers is actually lower,” she said. “It’s important to note APS does not disconnect service for non-payment on extreme heat days as determined by weather experts.”
APS uses multiple third-party weather services, including the National Weather Service, to alert them when weather conditions may be dangerous to a person’s health. These services take into account multiple factors to determine potentially dangerous conditions. Examples of these factors are temperature, cloud cover, wind, air mass, dew point and consecutive days of heat, she said.
They also do not disconnect service for non-payment on weekends or holidays. Customers can reach APS’s care center between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. weekdays at 800-253-9405, as well as go to aps.com for more information.
Ron Eland can be reached at 282-7795, ext. 122 or by email at reland@larsonnewspapers.com
