Checks on way to APS customers as part of $24M settlement

PHOENIX – Nearly a quarter of a million checks are on their way to Arizona Public Service customers as part of a $24 million settlement over misleading service plan information, authorities said Friday.

Payments of varying amounts, most around $100, will be mailed over the next few weeks to about 227,000 customers of the state’s largest energy utility, according to an Arizona Attorney General’s Office press release.

According to the consent agreement reached in February of this year, the APS online rate selection tool provided incorrect results about which plan was the most economical from February 2019 to November 2019. In addition, an earlier letter from APS to some customers that recommended a rate plan contained a data error.

The tool was taken offline when the error was discovered and a new one was launched on Jan. 29, 2020.

The main group of recipients consists of approximately 210,000 customers who weren’t on their most economical plan as of March 2020 and could have saved an average of $120 in the previous year based on their historical usage. They each will get $98, for a total of $20.7 million.

Another $3.3 million is going to about 17,500 customers affected by incorrect data about the Saver Choice plan in a 2017 letter from APS.

The Attorney General’s Office will also send letters confirming that the settlement and checks are valid.

“This is the first time in our state’s history that the Attorney General’s Office has reached an agreement with a utility company to provide refunds directly to consumers,” Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said in the release.

If you get a check, you should cash it within 90 days, according to the release.

For more information, APS posted a page of frequently asked questions about the settlement and payments, as required under the settlement.

APS serves 1.1 million residential customers in 11 of 15 Arizona counties. It did not admit wrongdoing in reaching the settlement.

Follow @kstonezone