It's 115 degrees. Your bill just hit $400. Sound familiar?
In 2020, the average Arizona electric bill was $137 a month. Today? It's pushing $233 — and climbing. That's nearly double in just five years.
And it's not slowing down. Air conditioning eats up half your summer electric bill — and summers aren't getting cooler. Phoenix hit triple digits in March 2026. AC units that used to run for four months are now running for six.
For 161,000 Arizona households, this isn't an inconvenience — they're already behind on their bills and at risk of losing power. Some families are spending up to 30% of their income just to keep the lights on and cool their homes in the summer.
This is an emergency. And it has a cause.
Meet the board that decides what you pay. You've probably never heard of them.
The ACC
The Arizona Corporation Commission is a five-person elected board with one very big job: deciding how much Arizona's electric companies are allowed to charge you.
Electric Companies
APS. Tucson Electric. Southwest Gas. Every rate increase they've gotten? The ACC approved it.
In the last five years, the ACC has signed off on rate increase after rate increase — double-digit jumps, surcharges tacked onto your bill for gas pipelines and infrastructure you didn't ask for. Meanwhile, APS posted over $600 million in profit in 2024 alone.
The ACC has the power to say no. It just hasn't been.
The pain isn't spread evenly.
Working class people are taking the hit.
High energy costs don't hit everyone the same way. If you're paying more than 6% of your income on electricity and gas, you're considered "energy burdened." More than 10%? That's a crisis. And in Arizona, the people carrying the heaviest load are the ones who can least afford it.
Black households pay
43% More
of their income on energy
than white households
Hispanic households pay
20% More
Native American households pay
45% More
Low-income
families spend roughly
3x More
of their income on energy
Older adults face energy costs
36% Higher
than average
Rural families pay about
40% More
than people in cities
Some families spend up to
30% of their income
just on energy. That's not a bill — that's a crisis.
Here's the part they don't want you to know: You can change this.
The message is simple: the ACC sets your bill.
You set the ACC.
In November 2026, two of the five ACC seats are on the ballot. That means this year, every Arizona voter gets two votes to decide who sits on the board that controls your electric bill.
Two votes. One election. Real consequences for your wallet.
The candidates who win in November will decide whether the next round of rate increases gets approved — or stopped. They'll decide whether Arizona's energy future is built for utility shareholders or for the families sweating through another record-breaking summer.
We're not here to tell you who to vote for. We're here to make sure you know the stakes — and that you show up.
What should ACC commissioners stand for? Here's what to ask.
When you're researching candidates for the ACC, here are the questions that matter most for Arizona families:
Will they put consumers first?
Rate increases should require real justification — not just rubber stamps for utility profits.
Will they be transparent?
Arizonans deserve to know how and why their bills are going up before it happens.
Will they plan for the future?
As summers get longer and hotter, Arizona needs commissioners who understand that affordable, reliable energy is a public necessity — not a profit center.
Ask the candidates. Read their records. Then vote.