Angie DeSpain is a customer of Tucson Electric Power, who lives in a trailer, who works in the service industry and someone who has learned to live within her means.
DeSpain is one of the dozen individuals who spoke at a public comment hearing held by the Arizona Corporation Commission over TEP’s proposed rate increase, Monday.
“I came to Tucson for a more affordable life, but living in this mobile home it is not easy. It’s like living in an aluminum can, often hotter or colder inside than outside,” she said. “We use window units and space heaters because our trailer does not have central air. I depend on the small appliances to get through the day and not being able to afford them anymore.”
Other speakers like Debbie Fricke, called on the Arizona Corporation Commission to reconsider TEP’s request to increase rates by 14%, expressing concerns over affordability and making difficult decisions between essentials.
Fricke relies on social security due to health issues that leave her unable to work.
“The [cost-of-living adjustment] went up 2.6% while Medicare premiums went up over 11%. I have discovered that I can save money by not having supplemental health insurance so I don’t have that. That left me this year with about $40 a month more than last year. I live a bare bones life.”
According to the Social Security Administration, the COLA has gone up 2.8% in 2026, not 2.6%
At the start of the meeting, Commission Chair Nick Myers said that he has taken concerns for affordability seriously.
“I understand that utility bills matter deeply to families, seniors, small businesses and communities across Arizona,” he said.
Myers told AZPM that it is the Commission’s job to balance legal obligations as a regulatory authority but also ensuring that costs remain as low as possible
“We want the utilities to maintain doing business in a reliable manner, so we have to juggle that because when the lights go out and the air conditioning goes out, people die. It’s that simple, so we have to make sure that we do what we can to make sure utilities are reliable but at the same time, as affordable as possible.”
Commissioner Kevin Thompson said a lot of community members are disappointed with TEP’s request for a rate increase and are asking for the Commission to deny the rate increase.
“It’s disappointing when you have individuals that are beyond retirement age and they’re still working just to make ends meet,” he said.
About nine individuals spoke at the in-person meeting and three speakers phoned in telephonically, most speakers expressed concerns for rising costs and extreme heat like Betsy Wilkening, a TEP ratepayer for more than 40 years.
“We have to turn on our air conditioners in Tucson with extreme heat so early in the year, people are going to have to decide what is an essential cost in their household budgets with trade offs between food, medications and homes that are too warm to live in. There are going to be lots of health effects and deaths attributable to corporate greed, mismanagement and questionable practices.”
Erin Knox, a retiree who lives in a mobile home community in Tucson said that she and her husband would be able to afford TEP’s rate increase but that many of her neighbors who live off of Social Security payments would not be able to.
LeAndra Corbett, is a renter who has a limited income and worries that her landlord will raise rent.
“Currently, our monthly [TEP] bill is $178, as we approach the summer months, scorching heat is inevitable. We are already experiencing temperatures over 100 degrees in March, these kinds of temperatures don’t usually happen until sometime in May. This means we will rely even more on air conditioning. Temperatures cause our bill to do nothing but increase,” she said before calling the rate increase devastating for families already struggling.
Commissioner Lea Marquez-Peterson joined Monday’s meeting via video conference.
Julia Matter is the administrative law judge presiding over the case. During the meeting, she encouraged people to submit written comments to the case docket online.
The remaining public comment meetings over TEP’s rate case are:
- Wednesday, April 1, from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Public comment can be made in person at the State of Arizona Building at 400 W Congress St. in downtown Tucson, or telephonically.
- Tuesday, April 7, from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Public comment can only be made telephonically.
- Wednesday, April 22, at 10 a.m., prior to the beginning of the first day of the hearing. Comments can be made in person at the State of Arizona Building at 400 W Congress St. in downtown Tucson, or telephonically.
For telephonic comments during the meetings, call 1-877-309-3457 and use the passcode 246011833204##.
