Last year, 602 people died of heat-related causes in Maricopa County. Kate Korman, an 82-year-old woman who lived in Sun City West, was one of them.
Korman died May 19, six days after APS shut off her power due to nonpayment. Temperatures in the days leading up to her death were in the high 90s and even reached 100, contributing to Korman becoming one of 13 people who died of heat-related causes who lacked working air conditioning last year.
Yet, Arizona law does not prohibit APS from shutting off a customer’s electricity in those circumstances. The Arizona Corporation Commission, which regulates utilities like APS, bars them from turning off anyone’s power between June 1 and October 15 every year, and Korman’s death fell outside that span…