PHOENIX – With utility customers in multiple counties facing repeated and ongoing power outages during the extreme Arizona summer heat, Attorney General Kris Mayes is reiterating her demand for federal action to address the electric reliability crisis at the San Carlos Irrigation Project (SCIP). Media reports state that Arizonans are suffering temperatures of between 90 and 105 degrees inside their homes and experiencing outages lasting up to six and seven hours, multiple days in a row.
“Arizonans are reporting repeated hours-long outages in potentially deadly summer heat. These outages are a stunning failure of federal oversight and accountability,” said Attorney General Mayes. “The federal government has an obligation to consistently provide safe, reliable electric service to SCIP’s 13,000 customers. My office is evaluating all options to address this situation.”
Last year, Attorney General Mayes sent a letter to the leadership at the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Department of the Interior, urging them to address SCIP’s reliability issues. “It has been nearly a year since I first called for the federal government to address the ongoing, well-documented issues with SCIP’s electric service. I went to Washington D.C. to meet with the Department of the Interior about this issue. Yet, the situation at SCIP has only worsened,” said Attorney General Mayes. “Power outages remain frequent and prolonged, bills are still unreasonably high, and thousands of Arizonans are suffering through life-threatening summer heat without consistent electricity.”
Attorney General Mayes also applauds efforts by stakeholders to press the federal government to sell its ownership of SCIP. “SCIP’s repeated, summertime power outages underscore what State and Tribal leaders have said for years: the federal government should pass legislation to fund needed upgrades to SCIP’s infrastructure, divest itself of SCIP, and transfer SCIP’s assets to responsible local utilities. Until that happens, though, the federal government must provide reliable electricity to paying customers as soon as possible.”
SCIP customers affected by outages should visit Arizona’s heat resources website to find nearby cooling centers to stay safe during life-threatening summer conditions.