PHOENIX — Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes was granted an intervention on Monday by the Arizona Corporation Commission into Arizona Public Services’ most recent rate hike request.
According to the ACC, an intervention allows a person or organization — in this instance the State of Arizona — who was not an original party to the case to participate, including providing sworn testimony and cross-examining other parties’ witnesses.
“Arizonans are already feeling squeezed by sky-high electric bills and now APS is trying to jack them up even further. Giving APS another rate increase, after making more than $600 million in net income last year, is outrageous and I will not stand for it,” Attorney General Kris Mayes said in the announcement.
The ACC also granted interventions to Vote Solar, Arizona Public Interest Research Group Education Fund and Wildfire.
Why does Mayes want to intervene in the APS rate hike request?
In June, APS filed an application with state regulators for a 14% increase that if approved would raise customers’ monthly bills by around $20 by the second half of 2026. The electric provider claimed that request was due to current rates not keeping pace with grid operating costs.
At the time, Mayes called the proposal a “blatant” grab for profits.
The Monday announcement added that the rate hike would increase APS’ revenue by more than $580 million annually.
The attorney general’s office also noted that APS raised customers’ rates by 8% in 2024, 8% in 2023 and by 4.5% in 2017 as well as that Arizonans pay more for electricity than residents in 38 other states.
The electric provider is the state’s largest and serves approximately 1.4 million customers in the Grand Canyon State.
“APS has a monopoly and should not be allowed to exploit that monopoly on the backs of Arizona consumers,” Mayes said.
Mayes previously served on the ACC.
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