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. She had five days to pay in full. Otherwise, APS would disconnect the electricity. Outside, temperatures were in the triple digits.
...
APS didn't cut off Pullman's electricity on August 28. Pullman's final electric bills show that on September 5, 2018, the day after her Social Security check normally arrived, she paid APS $125.
It wasn't enough. Two days later, on September 7, APS disconnected her electricity. That day, temperatures hit at least 105 degrees Fahrenheit, instruments recorded in nearby Youngtown showed. Smith recalled it was 107 degrees.
This is all really fucked up, but here's the thing... I only found out about this at all because I got an e-mail from APS yesterday...
That's right! They changed their policy... sort of. They won't disconnect customers over the next 30 days, when summer has barely even begun (note the woman in the original article died late August/Early September).
They are doing the barest of minimums to raise good will, all while they increased prices, made record profits, and have an effective monopoly over most of the area. More people are likely to die as since they raised rates there has been a 50% increase in power disconnects. (Source)
Fuck monopolies, fuck paid off politicians, and fuck people who put profit above human life.
