Arizona Public Service, the utility company that provides electricity to ASU, has plans to increase the average of individual and business rates by 8.55 percent.
The rate increases will take effect in October if approved by the Arizona Corporation Commission.
Dan Wool, a spokesman for APS, said the rate increases would be used to recover $278 million in losses, $68.2 million of which has already been recovered by adding surcharges that took effect on Jan. 1. The $1.46 to $1.99 fees were added to every power-user’s bill.
Wool said the cost of doing business ended up being more than APS had anticipated.
“The costs that we’re outlaying for the basic building blocks of our state’s infrastructure did not match what the rate payers were paying,” Wool said.
The Tempe campus alone pays APS an average of $1.3 million each month, said Phil Plentzas, director of business operations for University Services. The price includes both academic buildings and student housing.
Plentzas said he wasn’t sure what the new numbers for ASU would be if the rate change is approved, but things are already tight the way they are.
“It’s certainly a strain,” Plentzas said. “We’re doing everything we can to cut electrical usage and cut the budget. Nobody’s happy with anything that’s going on right now.”
Reach the reporter at benjamin.weitzenkorn@asu.edu.
