APS' $95M rate hike will get a second look after customers protest

State utility regulators will review their August decision to grant a $95 million rate hike to the state's biggest electric company thanks to a petition filed Wednesday with the Arizona Corporation Commission.

The five elected Corporation Commissioners eventually will decide whether to rehear the case, although Arizona Public Service Co. is likely to seek a dismissal of the complaint.

State regulators voted 4-1 for the rate hike, which the company described as a 4.5 percent increase that would raise the average household's monthly bill by $6 to about $142.

Petition garners more than 400 signatures

Dozens of customers have complained that their bills since August increased by more than that amount, and more than 400 signed the petition circulated by Stacey Champion, an APS customer, community activist and Phoenix public relations firm owner.

"This rate increase has hurt people and families who are now being forced to make the choice of paying an exorbitant electric bill or buying groceries," Champion's letter to the commissioners said.

Her petition seeks a rehearing through a state law, described recently in a story by The Arizona Republic.

Arizona Revised Statute 40-246 allows customers to petition the Corporation Commission if they believe a utility is violating a commission order. If at least 25 utility customers sign on to a complaint, it triggers legal proceedings at the commission.

Champion submitted pages of signatures, and the petition had more than 430 signatures on Change.org Thursday afternoon.

The petition for a rehearing will be assigned to an administrative-law judge, and APS will have a chance to respond to the complaint, according to the commission's chief attorney, Andy Kvesic.

There is no timeline for when the judge will begin proceedings on the complaint, but APS will be given 20 days to respond, he said.

Once the parties are given a chance to present their case, the judge will give a recommendation to the commissioners, he said. The judge's recommendations are not binding to the commissioners.

"From a general perspective, the commissioners can do whatever they want at any time," Kvesic said. "They can review previous orders, bring folks back in."

Customers must choose new rate plan by May

The commissioner who voted against the rate increase was Robert Burns. He said the commission did not give the rate hike proper scrutiny.

One commissioner who voted for the increase, Doug Little, left his job for a position with the U.S. Energy Department. Gov. Doug Ducey replaced him with former state lawmaker Justin Olson.

At the time of the appointment, Ducey's office declined to comment when asked whether the governor conferred with officials at APS about Olson's selection.

Don Brandt, the president/CEO of APS and its parent company, Pinnacle West Capital Corp., served on Ducey’s inauguration committee. Pinnacle West donated $4,700 to Olson's political campaigns from 2010-16, according to Secretary of State records.

The other commissioners who approved the APS rate hike are Chairman Tom Forese, Andy Tobin and Boyd Dunn, all of whom APS supported in their campaigns for the commission.

An APS spokeswoman said the company was moving ahead with the rate hike. The increase not only allowed the company to raise prices, which it did in August, but also to transition 1.1 million customers to new rate schedules. That shift is underway.

Customers must select a new rate plan by May or they will be transitioned to one. The new plans include several changes to basic-service fees, on-peak hours and other fees.

“We received the petition late today and can’t comment on its merits; however, it’s certainly within our customers’ rights to engage with the Arizona Corporation Commission," APS spokeswoman Anna Haberlein Stewart said.

"Our focus has been and will continue to be on implementing our new service plans, which offer customers options for how they use energy and give them more ways to save.”

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