Arizona Utility Admits 2 More Deaths After Power Shutoffs

PHOENIX (AP) — The state’s largest electric utility is telling its regulators that two more customers died after their power was disconnected for not paying their bills.

Arizona Public Service told the state Corporation Commission Wednesday that it settled lawsuits stemming from deaths last July and in 2011.

APS reviewed its records after questions from commissioners regarding the September death of a 72-year-old Sun City West woman. The commission last month barred all disconnections by regulated utilities between June 1 and Oct 15.

The letter from APS executive Barbara Lockwood didn’t identify the customers who died or reveal what the utility paid. She also noted two other claims by people who said their health was affected by disconnections.

Lockwood said in all four cases there were other factors affecting the customers’ health.