Press Release: Rep. Stanton, Latino and Local Community Leaders Call for Clean Energy to Bring Down Sky-Rocketing Costs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PHOENIX, AZ — As communities continue to face rising utility bill costs, Poder Latinx, the Climate Action Campaign, and climate justice partners convened to host a press conference followed by a community round table to address the affordability challenges affecting kitchen-table economics across the district and the need for policies that help working families keep energy costs within reach.

“In Arizona, AC isn't a luxury. It's a necessity. But while temperatures keep climbing, families here are paying the highest summer electricity bills in the country. That's the direct result of extreme Republicans killing the clean energy investments that were bringing costs down. I am fighting to reverse those attacks and lower monthly utility bills,” said Rep. Stanton.

Arizona families are projected to pay the highest summer electricity bills in the nation. Arizona families are expected to pay about $1,060 in electricity costs between June and September, more than double the $488 that families in North Dakota, the lowest-cost state, are projected to pay. At the same time, climate change is making these challenges worse. Arizona is experiencing longer, hotter, and more dangerous heat waves that increase cooling demand, strain the electric grid, and drive up utility bills year after year. These hotter temperatures and rising energy bills hit low-income families the hardest, as they face the greatest burden of deciding between putting food on the table and paying their energy bills. 

“Lower energy bills, cleaner air, and stronger local economies are priorities that benefit every Arizonan, regardless of political affiliation, said José Flores, Poder Latinx. “It is time for our elected officials and our community leaders to stand up for a better future and show how our health, our future, and our lives are not just collateral damage in a political fight.”

Instead of helping families afford these rising costs, however, the Trump administration is canceling the very clean energy investments that would bring costs down. The H.R. 1 bill, known by some as the "Big Ugly Bill," stripped away clean energy tax credits that were driving investment in cleaner and cheaper solar, wind, and battery storage across Arizona. The administration has also attacked programs like LIHEAP, which leaves low-income families without the assistance they need to pay their energy bills during dangerous heat waves. 

"Extreme heat doesn’t end when we clock out. Heat illness can hit 24 to 48 hours later, and rising energy bills make it harder for workers to cool down and recover at home,” said Trina David, IAM Safety Representative, PHX, AZ Heat Standards Coalition. “Some of us take extra shifts just to afford AC, and others simply go without. No worker should survive deadly heat on the job only to face it again at home. Affordable, reliable, clean energy is a matter of survival."

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