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Every Dollar at Work: How Your APS Bill Supports Safe, Reliable Energy
The electric grid is made up of many different pieces, and each plays a critical role in delivering the safe energy that powers your home or business. Similarly, each customer dollar is allocated to cover key factors behind the reliable service you count on. Here's how your energy dollar is used.
Power production & delivery (67 cents)
Two-thirds of every customer dollar – 67 cents – goes toward the cost of generating and distributing electricity for homes and businesses. This money pays to run and maintain power plants, substations, transmission and distribution lines, and for the staff who operate and take care of them.
Operations support (9 cents)
These functions include the Customer Care team who helps you with your account, along with cybersecurity, environmental, human resources, legal, accounting and other activities that support daily business operations.
Property & income taxes (7 cents)
As a statewide utility with many facilities and assets, APS is Arizona’s largest taxpayer. Our tax payments help fund federal, state and local programs and services like schools, roads, police and fire departments.
Interest on borrowed money (7 cents)
Covers the cost of borrowing money from lenders that helps fund new infrastructure and upgrades, including generation, transmission lines and modern equipment.
Regulator-approved earnings (10 cents) The final piece – 10 cents of each customer dollar – are earnings approved by regulators. These dollars support grid modernization in two specific ways
- Paying back investors: 7 cents goes back to investors who provide essential financing and are repaid a portion of profits (a dividend) for the capital that helps fund reliable service to customers. Paying investors back is like paying a mortgage, and the modest amount APS returns to investors is regulated by the Arizona Corporation Commission.
- Cash-funded grid improvements: The remaining earnings (3 cents) are used to supplement grid upgrades that keep your energy flowing safely and reliably so our customers can continue to experience fewer outages and shorter interruptions than the national average.
You may have heard that APS is ranked #1 in Corporate Philanthropy by the Phoenix Business Journal, recognizing our commitment to helping local organizations to address real community needs, from human services and community development to education, employment and small business. Here’s an important note about APS’s community giving: these programs are funded by shareholders, not customers, and do not impact customer rates.
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