9 April 23rd - April 29th, 2026 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | The settlement is the bare minimum, they said. They hope the 95-degree threshold is reevaluated at some point because it is still very hot, and they want to see more money allocated in the future toward helping people pay their bills. They also hope the changes are adopted by other utilities statewide. “The AG was able to force APS’s hands to do some things,” Adam said, “but it’s more than a problem with one company.” What the brothers both really want is for APS to take responsibility for their mother’s death. “APS has still refused to admit any wrongdoing,” Jonathan said. “And they killed my mother.” Pushback from APS APS spokesperson Jill Hanks said that the utility has and will continue to find solu- tions for customers who can’t pay their bills. She pointed New Times to a press release announcing expanded programs for heat relief and emergency contacts. The release also disputed Mayes’ comments. “Developed as part of a consent judg- ment with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, these program enhancements are in line with the company’s commitment to put customers first. APS strongly disagrees with the Attorney General’s characteriza- tion of the company’s policies, programs and record, and denies any wrongdoing,” the press release reads. In her press conference, Mayes also laid blame squarely on the Arizona Corporation Commission, which regulates utilities, and the state legislature for not enacting stricter laws and regulations. Mayes also accused the commission of not conducting an appropriately thorough investigation of its own into APS’s policies after Korman died. In the aftermath of Korman’s death, a corporation commissioner feuded on social media with one of her sons, saying it was unreasonable to ask utility companies to monitor daily temperature highs. Mayes, a former corporation commissioner herself, had advocated for a temperature- based, and not a calendar-based, system. “It should not have taken a lawsuit by my office and news reports to get us here today, but that is how that happened,” Mayes said. She noted Arizona is one of the hottest states in the country. “Protecting Arizonans from having their power cut off in life-threatening heat is not a novel or complicated idea. It is a basic obligation of utility regulation,” she said. In an emailed statement, ACC Executive Director Douglas Clark said that there is nothing in the settlement that contradicts the commission’s investigation. “It is notable that nothing in the consent agreement contradicts the Commission’s own findings,” the statement read. “We have investigated this matter and found no rule violation. If APS wants to spend addi- tional shareholder funds, it is free to do so. The consent agreement makes it clear that this payment is outside the regulatory framework and will not be passed on to ratepayers.” Korman is not the first high-profile heat death from an electricity shut-off. Seventy- two-year-old Stephanie Pullman, also of Sun City West, owed just a few dollars to the utility when she died on a 105-degree day in September 2018. Pullman’s death prompted an overhaul of APS’s disconnect policies in 2019 by the corporation commission, which established new rules prohibiting APS and other utilities from disconnecting past-due residential accounts between June 1 and October 15. However, temperatures in Phoenix often reach the 90s and higher outside those dates. Just this March, Phoenix experienced a heatwave with record high temperatures in the hundreds, around 30 degrees hotter than normal for that time of year. Maricopa County confirmed the first heat death of 2026 in early April. There were 430 confirmed heat-related deaths in Maricopa County last year, according to the county’s Heat Surveillance Dashboard. This is down from 608 in 2024 and 645 in 2023. As part of the settlement, APS must reach out to other utilities across the state and urge them to adopt a temperature- based moratorium on disconnections. While the terms apply only to APS, Mayes said that she hopes the other utilities will follow suit — because someone else will die if they don’t. “Those utilities that are not following the 95-degree hold policy are on notice,” she said. “They are on notice that anything other than 95 degrees is dangerous and can kill people, and if somebody dies on their watch with a date-based policy, we’re coming after them too.” Arizona Public Service Company is the largest utility in Arizona. (JHVEPhoto/Getty Images) Heat Relief from p 6
