More than a century ago, Teddy Roosevelt, before an audience at The Sorbonne, made some of his most famous remarks, saying, “It is not the critic who counts ... The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.” Looking back at Roosevelt’s time, the nation was beginning to see an evolution in the public discourse as an independent press was just beginning to take root in the United States.
What’s it like to be David going up against Goliath?
Stacey Champion has been fighting Arizona Public Service. She’s a single mom, a small business owner and a citizen who just thought that the recent APS rate increase was not justified. So in 2017, she petitioned the Arizona Corporation Commission for a rate review.
67 Reasons to Hope the Arizona Corporation Commission is Done Being an APS Puppet
Finally, the Arizona Corporation Commission is starting to act like it actually regulates Arizona Public Service. Dare we begin to hope? The five commissioners on Friday asked that APS CEO Don Brandt appear on Aug. 7 to answer questions surrounding the deaths of Stephanie Pullman and two other thus-far unidentified customers who died after APS cut their power.
APS: More Customers Delinquent on Bills Following Halt of Shutoffs
Workers at APS said there is an increase in customers putting off their bills until this fall when electricity shutoffs will resume. "What might happen is this unintended consequence, come the October-November time frame, where their balance is unmanageable," said Annette Carrier, a customer service manager at APS.
Utility Regulators Vote to Keep Rate Increase for Arizona's Largest Electric Company
Utility regulators rejected a last-ditch plea by Arizona Public Service customers to undo the rate hike they approved for the state’s largest electric company in 2017. The 4-1 vote by the Arizona Corporation Commission late Wednesday, with Sandra Kennedy dissenting, came despite comments from customer and citizen activist Stacey Champion.
Arizona Corporation Commission Toadies the line for Arizona Public Service
Arizona’s corporation commissioners had a prime opportunity on Wednesday evening to show that no longer is Arizona Public Service the boss of them. These five elected officials had the chance to demonstrate they are a welcome new generation of utility regulators, watchdogs who are actually looking out for customers rather than bleeding them to deliver massive profits to the state’s largest and most powerful utility.
Arizona Corporation Commission Won't Roll Back APS Rate Hike
Arizona utility regulators will not undo the rate hike they approved for APS in 2017. Members of the Arizona Corporation Commission voted 4-1 Wednesday against the request from customers, led by Stacey Champion.
Regulators Close Complaint Against APS, Leave Utility Rates Unchanged For Now
Utility regulators on Wednesday ended a challenge to the controversial rate hike Arizona Public Service Co. enacted in 2017 that drew thousands of customer complaints and a petition for a reconsideration. That means APS rates are not changing.
Arizona Corporation Commission Should Grow a Spine and Repeal APS Rate Hike
The Arizona Corporation Commission on Wednesday will vote on whether to stop APS from continuing to soak a sizable number of its customers. State regulators could do the unexpected. They could take on one of the state’s most potent political forces and vote to repeal the $95 million rate hike handed Arizona Public Service in 2017.
Arizona Commission to Rule on APS Rate Hikes
On Wednesday, The Arizona Corporation Commission will decide whether or not to rescind Arizona Public Service's 2017 rate increase and restore prior rates. The decision will come in response to thousands of customers signing a petition alleging they were misled and their prices increased more than the 4.5% the utility giant communicated to the public.
Corporation Commission Should be Raising Hell After Stephanie Pullman's Death, Not Thanking the Staff
The Arizona Corporation Commission on Thursday issued on emergency order barring Arizona Public Service and other utilities from cutting off electricity to people when the loss of power literally could kill them. This, just one week after the public learned of the death of Stephanie Pullman, who died last September after APS cut the power to her Sun City West home on a 107-degree day.
APS Protest Outside Phoenix Art Museum
Protestors put up a banner during a protest outside of the Phoenix Art Museum where the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry awards ceremony celebrating Don Brandt, CEO of Arizona Public Service in Phoenix, Ariz. on June 20, 2019.
APS Settled Claims for 2 Customers Who Died After their Power was Shut Off
Arizona Public Service Co. has been sued twice in the last decade when customers died after their power was cut because they didn't pay their bills, the company told state regulators Wednesday. One woman whose power was cut in June last year was found dead in her home in July, and another woman was found dead in December 2011 after APS cut her power in November of that year, according to the letter APS filed with the Arizona Corporation Commission.
APS Can't Prove it Followed Rules Before Shutting off Sun City West Woman's Power, Report Says
Arizona Public Service can't prove it followed regulations before shutting off electricity for a woman who died days later, state utility regulators reported Tuesday. The Arizona Corporation Commission staff did not dispute APS' contention that the rules were followed but said the company was not able to provide documentation that it followed all of the state rules for power shut-offs, including a requirement to tell customers about available assistance from the government or charities.
As Activists Protest APS CEO Don Brandt, Facebook ‘Mistakenly’ Blocks Organizer
A small crowd amassed at the entrance to Phoenix Art Museum for nearly two hours Thursday evening, protesting the deadly greed of the state's powerful largest utility just outside the venue where its CEO, Don Brandt, was slated to receive a prestigious award from the Arizona Chamber of Commerce.
Arizona Business Group Gives APS CEO Don Brandt Big Award; Protesters Blame Him For Woman's Death
Protesters chanted "Don Brandt's a murderer" Thursday night as people dressed in formal wear trickled into the Phoenix Art Museum to honor the CEO of the state's biggest electric company. The 30 or so protesters chanted about Arizona Public Service Co.'s profitability, policies on solar energy, participation in elections, and, more than anything else, its disconnection policies that contributed to a 72-year-old woman's death last year.
Corporation Commission Proposes Outlawing Electricity Shutoffs from June Through September
Utilities in Arizona would not be allowed to shut off customers' electricity for nonpayment from June 1 through Sept. 30, under a proposal submitted by utility regulators Tuesday.
Stephanie Pullman died after APS cut off power on 107-degree day. Are there more Stephanie Pullmans out there?
APS cut off power to a 72-year-old woman's home on a 107-degree day last year. She died, and a medical examiner's report found the extreme heat contributed to her death. On "Sunday Square Off," we talk to citizen activist Stacey Champion, who's been tracking power shutoffs by Arizona utilities, and the danger they pose to customers.
Now that APS isn't cutting people's power, can it reconnect its humanity?
It’s the timing that bothers me, that makes Arizona Public Service appear more like a corporate giant looking to cover its you-know-what rather than a business that has decided to put human life above profit.
On 107-Degree Day, APS Cut Power to Stephanie Pullman's Home. She Didn't Live.
If Arizona Public Service hadn't cut off her electricity last September, Stephanie Pullman might still be alive today. On August 23, 2018, the utility mailed a warning letter to the 72-year-old’s home in Sun City West, where she lived with her cat, Cocoa. Pullman owed APS $176.84, it said.