APS Cut a Sun City Widow's Power After Ending the 95-Degree Hold.

On April 15, 2026, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced a settlement with Arizona Public Service Company valued at $7 million. The case resolves a Consumer Fraud Act investigation tied to the death of APS customer Katherine Korman, age 82, who was found dead in Sun City West on May 19, 2024, days after APS disconnected her power.

The single fact that makes this settlement different from a press-release win is the timeline.

Source: Arizona Attorney General, Press Release: Attorney General Mayes Secures $7 Million Settlement with APS Following Investigation, April 15, 2026.

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What the Settlement Actually Requires

The settlement structure is precise. Total: $7 million. Allocations:

The reinstated and new APS obligations are the structural change. APS now has to maintain the 95-degree heat hold on residential disconnections outside the existing June 1 to October 15 moratorium window. Disconnections are temperature-triggered, not calendar-triggered alone. APS also has to maintain a 32-degree cold-weather hold, add text-message alerts for past-due notices and disconnection notices, enhance the APS Safety Net Program for medically vulnerable and at-risk customers, send annual letters comparing the Saver Choice Plus rate plan against alternatives, and encourage other Arizona utilities to adopt similar extreme-weather practices.

APS didn’t admit fault. The settlement says so on its face.

The statutory anchor is the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act, ARS 44-1521 et seq. ARS 44-1522 prohibits unfair acts in connection with the sale of merchandise, with intent that others rely on the conduct, “whether or not any person has in fact been misled, deceived or damaged.” The AG’s case handler was Senior Litigation Counsel John Raymond Dillion IV in the Consumer Protection and Advocacy Section.

AG Mayes’ verbatim, in the press release: “This settlement ensures that APS will no longer disconnect power based on the date on the calendar alone, if temperatures are dangerous, the power stays on.”

What Happened to Katherine Korman

Katherine “Kate” Korman, age 82, lived in Sun City West, Maricopa County. APS discontinued its voluntary 95-degree heat hold shortly before May 13, 2024. The AG release describes the timing as “just three days prior” to the disconnection. Working date for the end of the voluntary hold: approximately May 10, 2024. The AG release doesn’t give a calendar date for the end of the hold; it gives “three days prior” to May 13.

APS disconnected Korman’s electricity remotely on May 13, 2024 for nonpayment. The forecast high was approximately 99 degrees.

She was found deceased on May 19, 2024.

The Maricopa County Medical Examiner ruled her death an accident caused by chronic alcohol use with cardiovascular disease, and listed heat stress as a contributing factor.

APS has said it contacted Korman multiple times before the disconnection and again the day after, urging her to get in touch. That account is APS’s own characterization of its outreach, not a verified third-party record.

Katherine Korman’s sons, Adam and Jonathan Korman, are on public record. Adam Korman, to ABC15: “If her power hadn’t been cut during 100 degree weather, she would not have died when and how she did.”

What the ACC Commissioners Said

Arizona Corporation Commissioner Nick Myers, on the Korman matter, made a public statement reported by KJZZ and 12News: “I refuse to tell utilities they have to provide power to people that don’t pay their bills.”

Myers posted that statement on X in April 2025, and Adam Korman publicly clashed with him in the same social-media exchange. The verbatim Korman response from that exchange isn’t in this report.

The current ACC includes Commissioners Lea Marquez Peterson, Kevin Thompson, Nick Myers, and Jim O’Connor. The fifth seat requires direct verification at azcc.gov before publication of any roster.

The 2019 Precedent

The ACC adopted the June 1 to October 15 disconnect moratorium in 2019. The trigger was an earlier heat-related death of an APS customer whose service had been disconnected. The 2019 precedent established that calendar-based extreme-weather protection was within ACC jurisdiction.

The 2024 Korman death exposed the calendar’s limit. May 13 isn’t June 1. A 99-degree day in mid-May is a heat day in Phoenix climate terms even though the calendar moratorium hasn’t started.

The April 15, 2026 settlement closes that gap by adding the 95-degree temperature trigger as a binding obligation. That’s the structural change.

What This Means for Arizona Families

The new APS obligations affect every APS customer in Maricopa, Pinal, and Yavapai counties.

The 95-degree heat hold is now mandatory, not voluntary. APS can’t disconnect residential service when the forecast high is 95 or above, regardless of calendar date.

The 32-degree cold-weather hold is the analog. Below freezing, no disconnection.

The Safety Net Program enhancement matters most for medically vulnerable customers. Arizona families with a household member on home oxygen, a dialysis patient, a medically fragile child, or anyone whose health depends on temperature-controlled environments can enroll. The program provides emergency notifications via text and email and prevents disconnection without additional notice attempts.

The text-alert system is the layer that catches everyone else. Past-due alerts and disconnection notices go to your phone, not just the mailbox.

The $800,000 in direct bill credits, distributed by September 1, 2026, goes to APS customers with outstanding balances. The mechanism for selecting which customers get credits is implemented through the Consumer Assistance and Education Program. Eligibility details belong in any subsequent reporting once the program publishes selection criteria.

What’s Missing From This Account

Three layers of detail aren’t in this report and are publicly obtainable.

The first is the actual settlement instrument. The AG press release describes the obligations and the dollar allocations. The operative legal document (the consent decree, assurance of discontinuance, or settlement agreement filed with the court) wasn’t pulled in this reporting window. A public records request to the AG under ARS 39-121 yields the underlying instrument.

The second is the Maricopa County Medical Examiner report on Korman. 12News reporting summarizes the ME findings. The actual report (autopsy, toxicology, scene investigation notes) requires a public records request to the Maricopa County Medical Examiner.

The third is the MCDPH 2024 indoor-heat-death cohort cross-tabbed against utility disconnect status. The 602 confirmed 2024 heat deaths are in the news release. The slice that involved a utility disconnect within the prior 30 days isn’t published; it lives in the underlying surveillance dataset. A FOIA-equivalent request to MCDPH yields that cross-tab.

What Comes Next

Three near-term reporting moves on this story.

The first is the AG settlement instrument retrieval. The press release describes; the document binds. Pulling the underlying consent decree confirms the binding language for every obligation listed in this report.

The second is the ACC angle. Regulators were reported looking into APS disconnection procedures after the Korman matter, but we haven’t confirmed a formally docketed ACC investigation. Whether the ACC opens its own proceeding, and any docket number, schedule, or commissioner votes, would be public at azcc.gov. An ACC proceeding could produce additional rule changes beyond the AG settlement.

The third is the Korman family’s civil-action posture. ABC15’s reporting describes the family pursuing “justice” without naming counsel or referencing a filed action. Maricopa County Superior Court and PACER docket searches would surface any later wrongful-death filing under ARS 12-611. Adam Korman and Jonathan Korman are on public record but the family has the privacy choice on whether to pursue civil litigation. We don’t speculate.

For now, the settlement is announced. The reinstated heat hold is binding. The 2026 heat season is weeks away.