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Rate Case 2025: Update
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In June 2025, APS filed a request with the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) to update rates to support investments we’re making that provide customers with reliable, resilient power at the lowest cost possible.
This is an initial step in a public, collaborative process that typically lasts more than a year. New rates are not expected to go into effect until the second half of 2026. APS strives to keep costs manageable and empower customers to choose a rate plan that aligns with their budgets and energy needs. At the same time, current rates have not kept pace with what it costs to operate a grid that provides the reliable, resilient energy our customers count on to power their lives. In fact, the current rates are based on costs from three to four years ago. This adjustment is essential to cover the cost of delivering power to customers’ homes and businesses, including infrastructure upgrades.
We understand rising costs are impacting so many aspects of customers’ lives today and that’s it’s never a good time to see bills increase. That’s why we’re focused on doing our part to keep our costs down as much as we can, while giving customers tools, programs and choices to help them manage their bills. Reliability isn’t optional —it’s essential, especially in Arizona. We must ensure the power is there when our customers need it most, and we thank you for trusting us with your energy needs.
The application for new rates supports:
Reliability and resilience
We prepare year-round for Arizona’s extreme weather – from clearing vegetation around equipment to hardening our infrastructure to withstand severe storms so that you have the energy you need, when you need it. Despite extreme temperatures in Arizona, our customers experienced less than one power outage and faced fewer minutes of interrupted service last year than the nationwide industry average. We’re looking ahead to keep your energy reliable in the future, too — continuing to make upgrades to our energy infrastructure that protect against severe storms, prolonged periods of extreme heat, and restore power as quickly as possible.
- System upgrades: This includes pole repair and replacement, substation and grid technology improvements.
- Increase resilience: We’re upgrading the electrical system with fire resistant equipment and installing technology that provides early warnings if a fire does start. Learn more.
- Reliability investments in action: We’re investing in innovative technology for quicker power restoration times like Fault Location, Isolation and Service Restoration (FLISR) to help us detect and automatically respond to outages, in real time. Learn more.
- Power plant upgrades:
- Improvements at sites like Palo Verde Generating Station and Redhawk Power Plant for increased efficiency during the hottest months when customer energy demand is highest.
- Expansion of battery energy storage at renewable energy locations to capture renewable energy and use it at times of day when customer energy demand is high.
- Increased protection against physical and cybersecurity threats.
Keeping costs as low as possible
APS consistently focuses on cost management, and employees have worked diligently to improve efficiency and productivity — and deliver cost savings. The rate adjustment proposal is designed to ensure each customer group pays its fair share, allowing APS to manage rising expenses without compromising service quality.
- Find cost savings: Our employees are trained to find efficiencies and save money, passing on those benefits to customers. Read about how engineers at a power plant found a way to save millions of dollars.
- Adjusting rate design: Large business customers, such as data centers, will pay what it costs to serve their high electricity needs without placing a cost burden on other customers. Learn more.
- Updating Grid Access Charge: To better align rates with the cost of service, customers with rooftop solar will see an additional increase. This is a step towards reducing shifting those costs to customers without rooftop solar.
- Gradual, annual rate adjustments: We’re proposing a tool to make rate adjustments, either up or down, based on the previous year’s expenses and investments.
Continuously improving our support for customers
We are committed to delivering excellent service that meets your expectations, while adding value at every touch point.
- Support for limited income customers: APS is committed to assisting limited-income customers through the state’s most generous low-income Energy Support discount program, as well as various bill assistance programs including Crisis Bill. If you’re experiencing difficulty paying your energy bill, we highly encourage you to contact us. We work closely with customers to find financial assistance that will help them. More information is available at aps.com/assistance or by calling (602) 371-7171.
- Adding technology: We’re investing in technology to quickly notify customers with important information during outages, account status, and emergencies. Sign up for alerts.
- 24/7 customer service: Customers can get the support they need through our top rated Arizona-based live agents every day of the year, 24 hours a day, or through one of our digital platforms.
APS is here to support customers with their rate plans, flexible interest-free payment arrangements and ways to manage bills and save money. APS offers residential customers the choice between three different rate plans to align with their energy needs, as well as tools to determine the rate plan that will save the most money based on their usage. For those who need help paying their bill, APS offers monthly discounts for those who qualify, as well as payment assistance programs including levelized billing, where customers can pay about the same amount each month and not have seasonal swings in their bills. Visit aps.com/assistance or call our Customer Care Center at (602) 371-7171 or (800) 253-9405. Advisors are available in English and Spanish.
Frequently Asked Questions
Unlike most companies who can independently set their own prices for the goods and services they provide, APS is a regulated utility that must file a request with the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) to open a public process called a rate case. Every few years, we file these requests asking the ACC to review the cost of delivering power to determine the appropriate amount APS can charge customers.
APS last filed a rate case three years ago, in 2022, and the ACC approved new rates in 2024 based on costs from 2021-2022. If the current request is approved as proposed, the monthly bill impact to a typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours would be about $20. Many factors affect a customer’s bill amount, including energy usage, weather, rate plan and days in a billing period. Rate changes would not take effect until sometime in the second half of 2026.
APS last filed a rate case three years ago, in 2022, and the ACC approved new rates in 2024 based on costs from 2021-2022. If the current request is approved as proposed, the monthly bill impact to a typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours would be about $20. Many factors affect a customer’s bill amount, including energy usage, weather, rate plan and days in a billing period. Rate changes would not take effect until sometime in the second half of 2026.
The rate case process generally takes about a year, depending upon the complexity of the issues and number of participants.
- APS files a notice of intent (NOI) to file a rate case. Completed: May 2025
- APS files its rate case, which includes details of its request. Completed: June 2025
- Participants and ACC staff have an opportunity to provide testimony.
- Public is invited to provide comment on the proceeding.
- ACC administrative law judge (ALJ) hears the case.
- ALJ issues a recommended opinion and order (ROO).
- Commissioners hold an open meeting to discuss and vote on the ROO.
Current rates are based on expenses from 2021/2022 and do not reflect today’s cost to serve customers. Since then, we have invested more than $2 billion every year maintaining and improving our infrastructure to reliably serve our customers. The case we are filing this year seeks to recover investments made, based on 2024/2025, to determine the appropriate amount APS can charge customers going forward.
Our focus is to strengthen the reliability of Arizona’s electricity infrastructure, provide power to new customers while protecting existing customers from bearing those expenses, support continuous improvements in meeting the needs of our customers, and keeping costs as low as possible. A key element of our request is a new tool which allows for smaller, annual price changes – that can be reductions or increases – based on the previous year’s expenses and investments.
We’re making the grid more resilient during extreme weather with our fire mitigation efforts such as pole replacement and vegetation management. We’re also installing smart grid technology that allows our crew to isolate and reroute power for quicker restoration times. These are just a few of the many improvements that help provide customers with reliable power.
APS offers the highest discount and funding for limited-income utility customers in Arizona. In 2024, more than 82,000 limited-income customers received a 25%, 35% or up to 60% discount on their bill for approximately $46 million in savings. In addition, nearly 60,000 customers received more than $21 million in assistance from state, federal, APS shareholders and other sources. We highly encourage and work closely with customers to find the financial assistance that will help them with their energy bills. Learn more.
We also offer energy efficiency programs and resources to help customers learn more about ways they can conserve energy, find their Most Economical Plan, and tips to save on their bills all year long. Budget Billing is also available for customers to levelize monthly bills and reduce the seasonal swings Arizona weather can cause to bills. Learn more.
You are invited to participate in public comment sessions on this rate case organized by the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC). Once they are scheduled, we’ll include information about those sessions on this webpage and in direct communications to customers.
You can find additional documents related to this rate case on the ACC’s website (docket #E-01345A-25-010).
