APS agrees to stop hot-weather power shutoffs at 95 degrees

Arizona Public Service agreed to a new shutoff rule as part of a $7 million settlement with the state. The utility will no longer disconnect residential customers for nonpayment when forecast highs reach 95 degrees or more, expanding protections beyond the old summer calendar window.

Arizona’s largest electric utility is changing its heat-season policy after settling a lawsuit brought by the state. Under the agreement announced by Attorney General Kris Mayes, Arizona Public Service will not disconnect residential service for unpaid bills on days when the forecast high is at least 95 degrees Fahrenheit. That is a meaningful shift from APS’s prior policy, which barred shutoffs only between June 1 and October 15 regardless of the actual forecast.

The settlement totals $7 million. According to the report, $2.7 million will go into a state consumer protection fund, while another $3.4 million will be used to strengthen a program that allows customers to designate another person to receive notice before service is disconnected. The case was driven in part by the 2024 death of an 82-year-old woman whose power had been shut off, a tragedy that turned utility shutoff practices into a statewide consumer-protection issue.

For Arizona households, the change matters because dangerous heat now arrives earlier and can linger later than traditional summer billing policies assume. A temperature-triggered rule offers broader protection during spring and fall heat spikes, when many residents still face air-conditioning costs but may not yet fall under seasonal shutoff bans. For residents and advocates, the settlement signals that heat resilience is becoming a year-round policy issue rather than a fixed summer calendar problem.