When reality clashes with branding: Arizona. Public. Disservice.
Abhay Padgaonkar, Guest Commentary//April 23, 2026//
The timing of APS’ “arizona. public. service.” commercial broadcast during a recent Diamondbacks game was a masterclass in corporate irony.
This branding — designed to evoke communal duty — came as APS agreed to a $7 million settlement with Attorney General Kris Mayes. The agreement resolved a consumer fraud investigation into APS’s disconnection practices during extreme heat following the death of 82-year-old Kate Korman.
APS’s assertion that it prioritizes customer safety rang hollow. “If that were true, my mom would not have died in the first place,” said Adam Korman, Kate’s son. For those watching the utility’s track record — and the Arizona Corporation Commission tasked with policing it — a more accurate tagline would be: Arizona. Public. Disservice.
‘Bad Policy’ — Now adopted by APSThe attorney general’s complaint followed the death of the Sun City West resident whose service was remotely disconnected for nonpayment on May 13, 2024. The settlement notes that APS disconnected service for nonpayment over 110,000 times in 2018, and that Korman was eligible for rate plans that could have lowered her costs.
A death like Korman’s was not only foreseeable; it was predictable. The commission had ignored heat activist Stacey Champion, who warned for years that prohibiting shutoffs only from June 1 to Oct. 15 was insufficient.
The commission failed to mandate a temperature-based rule. Worse, current Chairman Nick Myers previously called it a “bad policy” and refused to support it — despite Korman’s death occurring on a 99-degree day in May.
Now, only after arm-twisting by the Attorney General’s Office, APS has agreed to a voluntary 95-degree hold outside the summer window and consented to encourage other utilities to do the same.
Rules followed, customer deadWorse still is the callous conduct of those elected to oversee safety.
Nick Myers, then-vice chairman, infamously clashed with Korman’s grieving sons on social media. He claimed the commission had “no control over the situation,” and insisted the utility went “above and beyond.” And he pointed the finger at Korman’s sons saying, “you failed to protect your own mother.”
It took the commission a full year to look into the fiasco — and only after pressure from Attorney General Mayes. Following a non-public inquiry, the commission claimed APS was in compliance, declaring “the utility followed the rules.” Even after the settlement was announced, the commission repeated its “no rule violation” finding.
Even though following those rules resulted in a death, the commission took no steps to update them. It is chilling when the body constitutionalized to oversee public health is satisfied with a status quo that the state’s top prosecutor proved was lethal.
A pattern of failureThis is not the first time APS has settled after accusations of violating the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act.
Former Republican Attorney General Mark Brnovich secured nearly $25 million from APS in 2021 for providing inaccurate information regarding rate plan comparisons. Now, Democratic Attorney General Mayes has extracted another $7 million.
The commission, authorized to enforce health and safety rules, has failed to corral powerful monopolies, leaving it to the state’s top lawyers to protect citizens. The Republican-majority commission’s recent behavior suggests they are more interested in being a shield for utilities than a sword for consumers.
They have repeatedly sided with utilities while voting against the state agency that represents the interests of consumers. They have targeted energy rules for repeal despite billions in net benefits, and they have handed a gift to utilities by authorizing annual rate increases on autopilot while bypassing standard rule-making.
By failing to demand accountability, the commission isn’t just failing to lead — it’s providing cover.
And as long as that continues, the tagline, “arizona. public. service.” will remain nothing more than a deceptive marketing slogan.
Abhay Padgaonkar is a management consultant and longtime consumer advocate who served as an expert witness on behalf of utility ratepayers in 2018.