The report also accuses APS of failing to implement mechanisms to determine if customers can comprehend the men
By Joe Dana | 12 News
A new independent report harshly criticizes Arizona’s largest power company, APS, for not doing enough to help customers save on their bills.
The report also accuses APS of failing to implement mechanisms to determine if customers comprehended the menu of billing options that went into effect in August 2017 and remain in place today.
One Corporation Commissioner says the findings confirm APS’s customer outreach efforts over the past three years have been a “dismal failure.”
The Arizona Corporation Commission ordered the consultation in response to a grassroots consumer complaint filed against APS and a subsequent rate review last year. Maine-based energy consultant Barbara R. Alexander analyzed APS’s Customer Education and Outreach Plan.
“APS did all the traditional things to educate customers but when you have such a complicated rate design, I don’t know how you make it work,” said Stephen Jennings, Associate State Director of AARP, a nonprofit advocating for aging Arizonans.
Jennings has been critical of the rate design and wants stricter accountability and oversite over the regulated monopoly by commissioners.
