A 72-year-old woman in Phoenix got her power cut over a $51 bill when it was 107 degrees — and she died. Her memory is behind efforts to stop future deaths.

• Stephanie Pullman, 72, died after her power was shut off over a $51 late bill. It was 107 degrees.
• Pullman’s death in 2018 led to changes in how power companies deal with overdue bills in the summer.
• A recent heatwave in Arizona has the governor asking power companies to put policies in writing.

Stephanie Pullman died on a sweltering Arizona day after her electricity was cut off because of a $51 debt.

Five years later, the 72-year-old’s story remains at the heart of efforts to prevent others in Arizona from having their power cut off, leaving them without life-saving air conditioning in temperatures that have topped 110 degrees Fahrenheit every day this month.

“Stephanie Pullman was the face of the fight that helped put the disconnect rules in place for the big, regulated utilities in Arizona,” said Stacey Champion, an advocate who pushed for new regulations. “But we need more.”

Arizona Public Service, known as APS, disconnected Pullman’s power in September 2018 at a time when outside temperatures in her retirement community west of Phoenix reached 107 degrees Fahrenheit. Just days before, a $125 payment was made toward Pullman’s past-due bill of $176.

Her body was found inside her home during a subsequent wellness check. The medical examiner’s office said Pullman died from “environmental heat exposure ” combined with cardiovascular disease after the shutoff.

Pullman’s death prompted Champion and others to demand new rules to prevent shutoffs. The case raised awareness about extreme heat dangers, and it did spark change.

In 2019, the Arizona Corporation Commission, which regulates most of the state’s utilities, issued a moratorium on summertime shutoffs by APS and other power companies it oversees. Last year, the commission permanently banned electricity cutoffs during the hottest months.

Electric utilities can choose to pause disconnections from June 1 through October 15 or pause them on days forecasted to be above 95 degrees Fahrenheit or below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. APS; Tucson Electric Power, which serves Arizona’s second-largest city; and UniSource, which provides power in Mohave and Santa Cruz counties, chose the date-based option.

Arizona’s second largest provider of electricity, Salt River Project, or SRP, isn’t regulated by the ACC, but says it halts shutoffs during excessive heat warnings issued by the National Weather Service. Still, Champion noted that people have died on hot days without such warnings.

Amid the current heat wave, SRP announced Friday it was halting all cutoffs for nonpayment for residential and commercial customers through July, and would not disconnect for failure to pay anyone on its economy price plan for customers with limited income through August.

Gov. Katie Hobbs sent a letter to Arizona’s power companies on Friday, demanding that they spell out in writing their plans during the current hot spell for disconnections of service, how they will handle possible grid outages, and how they will react in the event of an emergency outage.

As for Pullman, details about her life are sparse because her family cannot discuss the case under a private legal settlement with APS. The company didn’t address the settlement when contacted last week, but said in a statement it “is here to help customers and we are making sure they stay connected during the summer months.”

Maricopa County, home to Phoenix, reported Wednesday that as of July 15, there were 18 heat-associated deaths confirmed this year going back to April 11. Another 69 deaths remain under investigation. And the county confirmed 425 heat-associated deaths for 2022 during the region’s hottest summer on record, more than half of them occurring in July. 

There have long been utility assistance programs for homeowners and renters across the state, but advocates say efforts to protect people from shutoffs in America’s hottest big metro increased after Pullman died.