APS Restoration Efforts Continue; Monday Storm Hits Dateland, Harquahala
Company Distributing Dry Ice to Impacted Customers

July 21, 2009

PHOENIX - As APS crews worked Monday night to restore service to Gila Bend and Ajo customers impacted by Sunday night's monsoon, another storm ripped through western Maricopa County, causing significant damage to area electric facilities.

At about 6 p.m. Monday, high winds took down at least three dozen poles that carry a 69,000-volt power line west out of Tonopah into the Harquahala and Dateland areas, resulting in an outage impacting several hundred customers.

APS employees are distributing dry ice at the following locations:

• Dateland School, 1300 S. Ave. 64 E
• Harquahala Fire District headquarters, 51501 W. Tonto. The Harquahala site also is a cooling station for area residents.

Meanwhile, about 80 to 90 percent of the 2,300 customers in the Gila Bend and Ajo areas affected by Sunday's storm were restored to service this morning. Customers in the Gila Bend area without service can pick up dry ice at the Gila Bend Community Center, 202 N. Euclid.

The Gila Bend location also has been established as a cooling center. In all, APS has provided 50,000 pounds of dry ice to customers affected by the outages.

Between the Gila Bend, Dateland and Harquahala areas, about 700 to 800 customers remain without service. APS crews from around the state worked through the night and continue to work today to restore power as quickly and safely as possible. Currently, APS does not have an estimated time of restoration; however, the remaining outages will be extended, some into Wednesday.

The company is coordinating with Maricopa County Emergency Management for water supplies and with county and local officials to coordinate other relief efforts.

APS, Arizona's largest and longest-serving electricity utility, serves more than 1 million customers in 11 of the state's 15 counties. With headquarters in Phoenix, APS is the largest subsidiary of Pinnacle West Capital Corp.

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