Summer Utility Shutoff Protection (Arizona)

Every summer, Arizona's utility regulator puts a life-saving rule in force: the summer disconnection moratorium, running June 1 through October 15 in 2026. Regulated utilities choose one of two protections, the full date-based moratorium or a weather-based rule suspending disconnections on dangerous-heat days, and this year the big three regulated electric companies all chose the full moratorium. Their residential customers cannot be disconnected for nonpayment all summer.

APS customers get a second layer: under an Attorney General settlement, no disconnections on any day forecast at 95 degrees or hotter, beyond the moratorium window itself.

Now the hard truth the moratorium does not change: the bill keeps growing all summer. The moratorium pauses shut-offs, not billing, and the full balance comes due after October 15. Unmanaged summer debt is exactly what triggers fall disconnections, so treat the protected months as time to act, not time to ignore the envelope.

Use the summer to get help applied. LIHEAP pays $160 to $640 toward utility bills plus up to $500 in crisis help for households under 60 percent of state median income, and Power AZ pays the same amounts up to 100 percent, which reaches $107,976 a year for a family of four. Apply through the DES portal or call 1-866-494-1981. The regulator itself routes struggling customers to these exact programs.

Also call your utility before the crisis: ask about budget billing, payment arrangements, and assistance programs. The major companies answer at APS 602-371-7171, TEP 520-623-7711, UNS 877-837-4698, SRP 602-236-8888, City of Mesa 480-644-4444.

One boundary to check: the moratorium covers regulated utilities. Electric co-ops have their own company-specific rules, and municipal utilities like Mesa's, and SRP as a political subdivision, set their own policies. If your provider is not one of the big regulated companies, call and ask exactly what summer protection applies to you.