Residential and Small Business Ratepayers Deliver a message to the Arizona Corporation Commission – Say NO to APS Rate Hike

Phoenix, Ariz. -- Today Sierra Club Grand Canyon Chapter, Chispa Arizona, Arizona Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) For Equity, Mi Familia en Acción, Vets Forward, Activate 48, and Climate Power, along with small business owners, community members and individual residential ratepayers delivered a strong message to the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) to say NO to Arizona Public Service (APS) and its massive rate hike that will make electricity less affordable for people who are already struggling to afford basic necessities like food, housing and healthcare.

Speakers highlighted how investments in clean energy can save ratepayers and better protect public health, while calling on the ACC to prioritize affordability, transparency, and accountability over excessive corporate profits. They also highlighted how higher electricity costs make it harder for families to invest in long-term solutions like weatherization, energy efficiency upgrades, shade, and home cooling improvements that could lower bills and reduce health risks over time.

"Customers have been on the hook to pay the price of APS's impractical decisions that prolong coal operation and maintenance, threatening the health of community members, and raising rates for families who are already trying to make ends meet," said Sierra Club Grand Canyon Chapter Director Sandy Bahr. "The utility's greed is bottomless, and unless the ACC steps in, ratepayers will continue to shoulder the burden while the utility rakes in millions."

"APS is not a struggling company. It is a monopoly utility asking working families, veterans, seniors, and students to pay more while its parent company brings in hundreds of millions in profit. Arizonans deserve oversight. Instead the ACC has consistently rubber-stamped corporate greed," said Ricardo Reyes, Director of Vets Forward.

"Our research in Maryvale shows that extreme heat already creates an outsized economic burden for families, especially through high electricity costs during the summer. Many residents are struggling to keep their homes cool while managing rising bills, and another rate increase would place even more pressure on communities already stretched thin. At a time when families should be able to invest in making their homes more energy efficient and affordable to cool, higher utility costs make that harder and ultimately increase costs for everyone," said Luis Avila, Co-Founder of Rumbo.

"For years APS has tried to not have to buy from residential solar," said Bill Palmer, a retired small business person and APS ratepayer. "As a committed environmental citizen that owns solar and has electric cars, the changing of the plans APS offers has driven my bills up 257% to 377% depending on the time of year. The Commission should require that APS bring back the summer Super Off Peak for 11 pm to 4 am to help lower bills."

###

About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America's largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit https://www.sierraclub.org.