Letter to APS Commissioner Mayes

Commissioner Mayes,

I would like to take a minute to share my view on the APS rate hike request, APS Rate Case - Docket No. E-01345A-05-0816, E-01345A-05-0826, E-01345A-05-0827.

As an Arizona native, retired Arizona Law Enforcement Officer, voter, tax payer, father of 5, I forbid the Commission to allow the rate increase. There. I know, forbid is such a strong word, however, it does get my point across.

For years, I have reduced my rate of energy use, at the request of all of the powers that be. But, APS continues to increase my rates to make up for profit loss due to people trying to economize. We use less electricity, pay less, they loose money and jack the rate up, so they come out ahead. We loose..

My solution to this issue is easy. Mr. Mumaw, the rep from Pinnacle West Capitol Corp, can take a PAY CUT to help his company stay afloat. In fact, if we look at failing or poorly run businesses over the past 10 years, we see that the few "top managers" are paid an obscene amount of cash to "manage the day to day operations" of their company. ALL of them should be forced to take a pay cut to pay for the issues raised in the dockets.

It is not your or my fault that Palo Verde has suffered maintenance issues which need repair. Nukes are expensive to build, operate and maintain. IF APS management had set aside an operation & maintenance fund for these issues, instead of PAYING for huge homes all over the world for the corp. execs , maybe the company would have the funds necessary to maintain Palo Verde.

Compare a small airplane owner with APS. There is a fixed cost to fly. Fuel is 5 dollars a gallon, the plane burns fuel at 10 gallons an hour. It costs, just in fuel, a known amount of $50 an hour. BUT, the engine has a finite life of 2000 hours and costs $30,000 to overhaul. That cost must be figured into the operating expense. A prudent small airplane owner would set aside $15 an hour for each hour of engine time, to pay for the known cost of the overhaul. This is called planning, something APS apparently does not do well.

From the Chairman's Letter & Message, 2006 annual report:

"Over the next 10 years we plan to invest nearly $15 bil­lion in electric infrastructure for Arizona. Many of the 'bright ideas' we adopt today, and many decisions we will make in the next few years, will determine the kind of company we will be into the middle of this century."

Where do they plan on getting that kind of money? If they don't have it, THEY CAN'T SPEND IT. If I don't have $30,000 to spend on a new car, I DON'T GET IT. Simple. What don't they get?

I know that Pinnacle West Capitol Corp is having money issues. So am I. Retired cops are on a fixed income. The people who manage Pinnacle West Capitol Corp make more money in 10 minutes on the toilet then I did in a year as a Police Officer, actually working.

Those same "managers" MUST be taken to task as to where all of the billions of dollars they take in annually, goes. They MUST be held accountable to their financing. If they screw up, they need to pay, not the consumer, which is you and me. Not a single one of them is "worth" the many, many millions of dollars each is paid for the work they do.

I am offended at the attitude the managers of APS take with the numerous rate hike requests.

Lastly, I have been in my current home since 2000. When we moved in, the utility payment to APS from the prior family was $300 a month. With hard work, I was able to reduce our "budget payment" to $190 a month. I then replaced the 25 year old air conditioner units with new high efficiency units, shaded the south windows, replaced the water tank with a new high efficiency one, added insulation... Guess what, even with all of the cost cutting by turning up the thermostat, keeping lights off, and the improvements to the home, I now pay $300 a month.

APS can shut up.

Thanks for your time. Feel free to share this (if you care to) with whoever you want.

Matt Bucko
Scottsdale, AZ

Comments are welcome at redstatepatriot@hughes.net. Please include the title of the article as your subject line. Selected responses, in whole or part, may be published (appended to the article).

Posted April 3, 2008 11:07 AM
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