Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

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Arizona program

Keeping the power on

Utility protections and discounts can help you keep electricity or gas service during a difficult stretch.

What it is

Utility protections and discounts can help you keep electricity or gas service during a difficult stretch.

A disconnection can create a medical danger during treatment at home. Covered electric and gas utilities have medical-protection rules. APS and Tucson Electric Power also offer their own bill discounts.

Eligibility rules
  • Commission-regulated electric and gas utilities follow the applicable medical-protection rules. SRP and municipal utilities have separate rules; a regulated cooperative may have an approved alternative. The company on your bill can identify which rules apply.
  • From July 1, 2026, APS’s ordinary four-person monthly income line is $5,500; the deeper-discount line is $2,089.73. TEP’s January 15, 2026 four-person line is $5,500.
  • APS gives 25% off (up to $95 a month) for a family of three under about $4,553 a month, and 60% off (up to $165) under about $1,730. Tucson Electric Power gives $20 a month off under the same line.
  • APS ordinarily recertifies every 24 months. TEP’s Lifeline electric-bill discount renews annually and can take up to two billing cycles to appear. This utility discount is separate from the federal telephone Lifeline program.
What you get
  • At APS, discounts of up to $95 a month, or up to $165 on the deeper discount.
  • APS summer and qualifying high-temperature holds on shutoffs for nonpayment.
  • A $20 monthly discount through Tucson Electric Power’s program.
What the help includes
  • APS pauses nonpayment shutoffs June 1–October 15, 2026. Since April 2026 it also has a location-specific hold when the next day’s forecast reaches 95°F.
  • If a shutoff would create a serious medical danger, a regulated electric or gas company must hold off once a doctor, nurse practitioner or PA certifies it and you cannot pay. You will be asked to agree a payment plan within seven business days. SRP and city utilities have their own rules.
  • The relevant Commission medical-protection amendments took effect April 18, 2022. The rule includes, upon request, one missed or partial installment in a 12-month period and good-faith renegotiation protections; the utility can explain the applicable terms.
  • Commission consumer assistance: 602-542-4251 or 800-222-7000; Tucson: 520-628-6550 or 800-535-0148. Medical-equipment registration is separate from account protection and does not replace a backup plan for outages.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask the company on your bill about a shutoff hold, a payment arrangement and its income discount.
  2. Have the bill, any shutoff notice and current household income ready. The social worker can join the conversation.

The customer-service number on your electricity bill · Official page ↗

After you ask
  • An arrangement should identify the hold and payment terms in writing. A discount needs its own application.
  • Unpaid balances of $75 or more at the end of the summer hold go onto an automatic six-month payment plan; current bills are still due on top.
  • APS’s 2026 automatic six-month arrangement uses qualifying delinquent balances of at least $75 at the relevant September billing-cycle assessment. Current charges remain separate from installments. APS can confirm your terms at 602-371-7607 or 800-253-9409.
Good to know

A medical-equipment registry gives notice of planned outages. It does not erase the bill or itself prevent a shutoff.

Other details
  • A planned-outage registry and a nonpayment shutoff protection address different situations. The company’s account decision matters.
Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Which protections and discounts does our electricity company offer? Could you help us compare the payment terms and ask for the help that fits our account?”

Why I’m asking: I want to understand what keeps the power on and what we would still owe.

More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules

Who does what

The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.

You

Call before the shutoff date and ask for all three things at once: the hold, an arrangement and the discount.

Your social worker

The social worker can make the call with you.

The care team

Records and letters when the application asks for them.

Who decides
The electricity company.
Ask the agency
“I have a child in cancer treatment at home. Can you hold the shutoff, set up a payment arrangement and check me for the income discount?”

How to apply

First step: Call the number on the electricity bill today and ask for the hold, an arrangement and the discount.

  1. Call the electricity company on the bill and say there is a child in cancer treatment at home.
  2. Ask for the bill discount and a payment arrangement in the same call.
  3. Ask which utility actually serves your address; the rules differ.

Where it starts: Call the company on the bill, ask about the summer hold, a payment arrangement and the income discount.

What to gather

  • The bill and any shutoff notice
  • This month’s income for everyone at home

How long: Usually decided on the call for the hold and the arrangement; the discount takes an application.

What a yes looks like

A hold on the account, a payment arrangement in writing and a discount on the next bill.

What a no looks like, and the next move

Ask which programme was applied and whether a doctor’s letter would change the answer.

Watch out

  • SRP and municipal utilities have separate rules; a regulated cooperative may have separately approved rules.
  • The registries for medical equipment give advance notice of planned outages; they do not stop a shutoff and do not excuse the bill.
  • Covered Commission-regulated electric and gas utilities accept required serious-medical-danger documentation from an Arizona-licensed physician, osteopathic physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant when the customer cannot pay. Documentation is required at least annually, not as a universal 30-day hold. The utility may require a payment arrangement within seven business days of the intended disconnection date. SRP and municipal utilities have separate rules; regulated cooperatives may have separately approved rules. Equipment registration does not guarantee uninterrupted power.

Dates that change this

2026-09-11: Covered Commission-regulated electric and gas utilities accept required serious-medical-danger documentation from an Arizona-licensed physician, osteopathic physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant when the customer cannot pay. Documentation is required at least annually, not as a universal 30-day hold. The utility may require a payment arrangement within seven business days of the intended disconnection date. SRP and municipal utilities have separate rules; regulated cooperatives may have separately approved rules. Equipment registration does not guarantee uninterrupted power. (not yet confirmed against the final rule)

2026-09-10: APS’s current 2026 disconnection page describes a six-month automatic payment arrangement for qualifying balances after summer protection. The eight-month description concerns older pandemic-era arrangements. APS confirms the account’s actual terms. (not yet confirmed against the final rule)

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.

What it is worth

A summer hold on shutoffs from June 1 to October 15, and up to $165 a month off the bill.

  • $165/month — Largest monthly discount on the deeper tier
  • $95/month — Largest monthly discount on the ordinary tier
  • $5,500/month — Income ceiling for the ordinary discount, home of 4
  • $20/month — Monthly discount from the Tucson company’s programme

Legal protection: A pause on shutoffs for non-payment from June 1 to October 15, 2026 · A location-specific hold when the next day is forecast to reach 95 degrees, added in April 2026 · Advance notice of a planned outage for a household registered as using medical equipment

What it costs the family: None.

The eligibility facts, as published

Utility
Covered Corporation Commission-regulated electric and gas utilities follow the applicable medical-disconnection rules. SRP and municipal utilities have separate rules; regulated cooperatives may have approved alternatives. APS and TEP discounts remain company-specific.
Income
the ordinary discount runs to about twice the poverty level

The trap: Utility-specific and Commission rules both matter. SRP and municipal utilities have separate rules; a regulated cooperative may have separately approved rules. The company on the bill confirms applicable protections.

Where I read this

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