Ways to help

I’m asking people to share my mother’s story, linking to this site or any of the other news reports about her. The more attention the story gets, the more pressure it puts on APS and Arizona regulators to change the policy that killed my mother.

I hope that Arizona residents will ask their state & local representatives about the story.

If you use social media, I appreciate if you share a few particular things: my Bluesky thread, Twitter thread, Mastodon thread, and Facebook post.

There’s a consumer complaint form available for the Arizona Corporation Commission which regulates APS. Anyone can file a comment. Here’s what I told them:

Last May, Arizona Public Service cut off electricity to my mother, Sun City West resident Kate Korman, while temperatures were in the 90s. Within a few days the heat killed her; I suspect but do not know for sure that she died the very first day.

My brother and I learned only in the last couple of weeks that this was not some weird fluke; it reflects a policy which has killed before will kill again. I cannot understand how you can allow utilities to cut off service in temperatures hot enough to kill.

My mother could afford the bill, and all her other bills were paid. I strongly suspect that after a glitch broke autopay from her bank, she did not understand that her bill was past due. APS has said publicly that they attempted to contact her, but I cannot understand how you can allow utilities to cut off life-saving service without DIRECT CONTACT.

I must also admit that I am not sanguine about ACC’s willingness address these concerns, given the X/Twitter exchange which my brother had with your Vice Chair, Nick Myers. I hope that other Commissioners are more humane:

https://www.APSKilledMyMom.com/resources/myers