Deobler: ‘Made up’ service fees in Arizona ruined our solar power deal

Just hung up the phone with [the electric company]. I was talking to their solar department rep, asking why my electric bill is so high.

In 2016, I installed solar to our house ... and for four years all I paid each month was $18 in taxes plus end-of-the-year payback for any watt-hours not used that year.

When we moved to Sun City, we added solar to our house thinking we’d get the same benefits. In 2021, those taxes were still there but now we have “charges for electricity services,” which increased our fees to over 500% plus. The solar rate (EPR 6 rider) we were getting before was frozen in September of 2017.

Apparently, dumping made-up service charges on solar owners is more important than building up a viable solar energy system in a very high Langley area (LY is a unit of solar radiation received by the earth. Named after Samuel Langley area.)

Are we talking about corporation nearsightedness or greed? Of all the places to discourage solar, in a desert full of abundant free sunshine. It makes no sense and causes my head to shake. It appears their shareholders are more important than their customers.

At little expense to APS, you’d think a business would appreciate the influence of a powerful technology that lowered their operating costs in a growing community. You’d also think they’d encourage this amazing technology and foster its growth with incentives instead of a discouraging hit to our pocketbook.

I’d like to see an accounting, by a private firm, on their validation for these extremely high made-up fees. I’d settle for good in-depth journalism.

This is beyond nearsightedness or greed. This is a disturbing slap in the face to the whole community.

Where are the common-sense politicians when you need them?