Read in Spanish

While the city of Tucson considers operating its own electric company, residents are speaking out about their issues with the current provider, Tucson Electric Power.

The Tucson chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America have been protesting against TEP’s rates and practices since last May. The group continues their efforts by gathering signatures for a petition in support of a public utility option and seeking out residents who have addressed city council members about their skyrocketing bills amid TEP rate hikes.

The group has collected nearly 2,000 signatures in support of a city-run utility system, with organizers saying that while high prices are a concern, they ultimately do not believe that utilities should be privately owned. 

Fortis, the Canadian company that owns TEP, reported an increase of $37 million in earnings in 2024 over the year before, for a total revenue of $337 million. 

The increase was driven by “strong earnings in Arizona” that reflect the most recent September 2023 rate hikes and “higher retail electric sales associated with warmer weather,” according to Fortis’ annual report.

The warmer weather referenced in the report was a record-breaking stretch of triple-digit temperatures that saw Tucson experience its second-hottest June, hottest July, six days in September over 105 degrees and an October that broke 16 daily high temperature records.

Tucson also had 109 consecutive days of triple digit heat during this time. 

Amidst the sweltering heat, Tucsonans like Mia Dicochea struggled to pay their bills.

“As a single mom, the last year and a half has been hard. They say there is help out there if we need it, but I’ve been struggling,” Dicochea said. “I have a disabled daughter that’s on oxygen all the time, which uses electricity 24/7, and I’ve called to say that I can’t afford my bill, but that I can’t afford for it to get turned off, either.”

Because she has a past due balance, Dicochea said that TEP is no longer willing to work with her on payment options.

She received a disconnect notice in December after several months of struggling to catch up, and her bill was sent to collections at the end of the year, despite her attempts to work with TEP.

“It didn’t get shut off because I looked for outside help from an advocacy group, which is a long process by itself,” Diochea said. “But it was taken out of collections and I’ve been paying the back pay along with my normal monthly bill.”

While many Tucsonans spent their December paychecks on holiday preparations and gifts for family and friends, both of Dicochea’s paychecks went to pay her balance.

She said that the bill for her two-bedroom apartment ranges between $300 to more than $400 in the summertime. 

“I think that TEP should be able to offer more extensions for people, not just single parents, but families in general. Stuff happens, and people lose their jobs,” she said. “I just feel that if the city took over, that they would be able to listen to people like me more. I work (so hard) but I still struggle, and the bigger companies won’t listen.”

Brooklyn Thornton, a line cook at a restaurant near the University of Arizona, has had a similar experience with TEP.

“My last apartment had all utilities included, but there would be times where some people’s electricity would be shut off even though they paid their rent on time, like me,” Thornton said. “The first time, it was only a couple of days, but another time my power was shut off for a week even though I paid everything on time.”

After contacting TEP about the issue, Thornton was told that because they didn’t have a personal account, they had no recourse other than speaking with the apartment manager.

 “When I spoke to the building manager, they told me it was handled, but it still took a long time for my power to get turned back on,” Thornton said. “My bill now doesn’t seem to be as consistent as it should be. I work a lot, and I have consistent usage, but some bills will be higher even though my usage doesn’t change, so I don’t know where extra charges are coming from.”

Thornton said they believed the public option would provide more consistency, but could also allow the city to reinvest any profits into itself, “instead of whatever TEP is doing with the money they make off us.”

Jeanne Lukasko, a member of the Tucson Democratic Socialists, moved to Tucson with their partner for a more affordable cost of living, but found that their electric bill was just another case of the rising cost of everything. 

Lukasko has addressed city council members about the public option and is canvassing for petition signatures.

“The first apartment my partner and I lived in let in a ton of heat through the front door, which never got fixed, and the bill was about $250,” Lukasko said. “Our current apartment is slightly bigger, so the bill is around the same price, and that’s with the thermostat set at 81 degrees.” 

Since their electric bill is shared with two other people, it’s much more affordable than some other households that they've heard of, where bills can run as high as $600 and $1,000, according to Lukasko.

“We are not a TEP horror story,” Lukasko said, “The real horror stories are those who live in trailer parks with master meters and other people I talked to who have way higher bills.” 

But money isn’t Lukasko’s only concern. Their partner has an autoimmune disorder that is responsive to changes in temperatures.

“It becomes a quality of life issue for them. It’s not just being hot or cold, it's the ability to sleep and cool down. Last summer we just kept trying to find a temperature that kept the bills lower while also making them comfortable.,” they said. “It definitely causes mental stress or fighting about bills. I have a college degree and I’m a substitute teacher, so we should be able to make ends meet, but the cost of living just keeps going up.”

A public utility option serves the needs of community stakeholders rather than shareholders, Lukasko said.

“The people in Tucson could have more of a say and more control,” they said.

The city commissioned a study for its potential takeover of electric services that evaluated two potential options: The creation of a public utility company owned by the city and a community choice aggregation program where the city would give customers power, but TEP would still own and operate the transmission and distribution system.

Tucson Mayor Regina Romero and city council members reviewed preliminary results of the study members last month, revealing a $820 million price tag for the city to buy out part of TEP’s distribution system. The cost could be higher if the city decided to buy out more of TEP’s assets.

The study also found that the cost of electricity to customers could still potentially go up under a city-owned system.

GDS will issue its final report in May.

Colton Allder is a journalism major at the University of Arizona and Tucson Spotlight intern. Contact him at callder1995@arizona.edu.

Tucson Spotlight is a community-based newsroom that provides paid opportunities for students and rising journalists in Southern Arizona. Please support our work with a paid subscription.