Daily Mail
Frail Arizona woman, 82, needed aircon to survive blistering summers...then one day her power was cut off
An elderly Arizona woman died in the sweltering heat after the power company cut off her electricity.
Kate Korman, 82, was found dead inside her Sun City West home on May 19, 2024, just six days after her power was shut off.
The temperature outside was 99 degrees on May 13 - the day her power was turned off - and it reached over 100 degrees at least twice over the next week, according to12 News.
The medical examiner's report stated her 'manner of death' was an accident caused by 'exposure to elevated temperatures.'
'She died baking in the heat in her own home because the electricity she needed for air conditioning was cut off and it killed her,' her son Jonathan told AZ Family.
Jonathan said at first he thought his mother's death was a tragic mistake, then he learned she was behind about $500 on her bills and the power company cut her off in the sweltering heat.
'When my brother and I came out to Arizona because of my mother's death, we arrived at our house and it was like an oven in there,' he said.
'Was there something mechanically wrong? No. We figured out it was the power company.'
Kate Korman, 82, died in the sweltering heat after the power company cut off her electricity
She was found dead inside her Sun City West home on May 19, 2024, just six days after her power was shut off
The utility company, Arizona Public Service (APS), said Kate had stopping pay her electric bill in January.
APS claimed they followed company policy and tried to notify her multiple times before cutting her off.
'After then, and in line with established practices and rules regulated by the (Arizona Corporation Commission), we communicated directly to this customer 10 times through email, phone, monthly bill and notifications,' Jill Hanks of APS told the local news station.
The medical examiner also concluded the underlying 'cause of death' was complications of chronic alcohol use and heart disease is listed as a contributing factor.
'How is it possible that there is a switch that someone flips to switch off the power when it is too hot for them to survive? That should be a thing that is not possible to happen,' Jonathan said.
'We thought this was some kind of fluke. Just a weird tragic mistake and it was only this year I learned in fact that there is a pattern.'
Maricopa County data shows Kate was the 15 out of more than 100 heat-related deaths that occurred indoors in the county in 2024.
Out of those deaths, nearly 70 percent were cases with air conditioning present but not on or functioning within the home.
The medical examiner's report stated her 'manner of death' was an accident caused by 'exposure to elevated temperatures'
Her son Jonathan (pictured) said at first he thought his mother's death was a tragic mistake, then he learned she was behind about $500 on her bills and the power company cut her off
APS said they followed state policies in Kate's case, and they offer several programs to help people pay their bills.
'Our flexible policies and interactions with customers make it possible for the majority of customers who enter the collections process to avoid disconnection and work to get caught up on their accounts,' Hanks said.
One program allows relatives of a customer to be informed about their bills, Jonathan said his family was not part of the program.
Another program, Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), uses federal funding to help people keep their power on.
'People on low fixed income, especially seniors or single moms that can't afford to pay their utility bill, they can use this program to pay that bill,' said Arizona state Rep. Mariana Sandoval.
However, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services terminated the entire staff that allocates funds for the program, according to state leaders.
'Things are going to get worse for everyday people here,' Sandoval said. 'It can send people to an early grave.'
