Citizen petition pay off to get reconsideration of rate increase
By Ryan Randazzo | The Republic
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.
