PHOENIX — Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes is calling on the Department of the Interior to take immediate steps to help San Carlos Apache residents when it comes to electrical service.
In a letter to Darryl LaCounte, director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, dated Sept. 6, Mayes details the problems San Carlos Irrigation Project has had in delivering power to reservation residents on a consistent basis, as well as the growing costs to the consumers despite not getting power during the hottest months of the year.
“Reliable electricity to power air conditioning is therefore a matter of life and death for Arizonans. Reliable electricity is also needed to power life-saving medical devices like ventilators and to maintain phone and internet service to contact medical providers and first responders. Arizonans should not live in fear that their electricity will not work when it is most needed,” Mayes wrote.
She also notes that, unlike state-regulated utilities, SCIP can and often does disconnect service for delinquent payment, regardless of the time of year.
Mayes is requesting the Interior Department take three immediate steps, while the department considers transferring the federally owned utility to another service provider:
- Fund and publicize cooling centers and ice giveaways when warranted across SCIP’s service territory to ensure SCIP customers remain safe during power outages
- Provide bill credits to SCIP customers to prevent service disconnections and institute a policy prohibiting service disconnections during the summer months like the Arizona Corporation Commission’s disconnection policy
- Accelerate disbursement of funds already earmarked for reliability enhancement projects across SCIP service territory
SCIP serves 13,000 residents of the San Carlos Apache Reservation.
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