By Elizabeth Whitman | Phoenix New Times
Arizona regulators who are developing rules to prohibit utilities from disconnecting customers during extreme heat are ignoring scientific and public health expertise, critics say.
The working threshold in the Corporation Commission’s draft rules is 105 degrees Fahrenheit, meaning that utilities would not be allowed to cut power to customers when temperatures are higher than that, even if the customer has a delinquent account.
Residents, activists, and experts say the limit should be lower — many say 95 degrees — for people’s health, safety, and lives. Without electricity, people cannot power the air conditioning that the Valley’s triple-digit summers render a necessity.
Those pushing for a lower threshold argue that even a few degrees can make a life-saving difference. But policymakers have not solicited input from the public health experts and scientists who have studied these nuances, Stacey Champion, a local activist who is vocal about both utility rates and the problem of heat-related deaths.
