Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes is using her office’s power to tackling rising electricity prices.
The Democrat is intervening in an ongoing rate case in front of the Arizona Corporation Commission, which is considering whether to grant Arizona Public Service’s request to raise rates by 14 percent to cover needed infrastructure. The increase would be the utility’s third since 2017 — and Mayes argues the company is overcharging customers.
“Affordability continues to be the number one issue here in Arizona and across America and we have an obligation to oppose monopoly utilities’ efforts to profit on the backs of their consumers,” Mayes said. “I think there is nothing more important in terms of consumer protection right now.”
Federal data shows that the average price of electricity in Arizona has risen 24 percent between 2012 and 2023 and is higher than at least 30 other states. The state’s rising energy demand and increasingly hot summers have made its grid a closely watched test case for the country, especially after several heat-related deaths linked to a lack of electricity.
