Excessive Heat Warnings explained

Please note: Due to expected high temperatures from July to August 2024, SRP will keep the power on for all SRP customers – even if there is not an Excessive Heat Warning. During this time, you’ll still be charged for the energy you use, so it’s important to keep making payments to avoid accumulating debt. 

Summers in Arizona are notoriously hot, and while Arizona residents expect triple-digit temperatures during the summer months, sometimes the weather can become extreme.  

In order to keep our customers safe during these extreme temperatures, we partner with the National Weather Service (NWS) and rely on their weather expertise to alert us of upcoming excessive heat events.   

Anytime the NWS issues an Excessive Heat Warning, SRP will not disconnect power, regardless of payment status. 

In addition, we will not disconnect power for any SRP customers during the months of July and August beginning in 2024. Unless the NWS issues additional Excessive Heat Warnings, normal payment collection will resume after Labor Day. 

This applies to all residential customers across all price plans, as well as customers on the SRP M-Power^® price plan. If we are in a heat moratorium and money has run out on your SRP M-Power box, the box will alert you of your balance as usual, but your power will remain on.   

It is important to note that customers will continue to be charged and accumulate a balance for power that is used during a heat moratorium. 

What is an Excessive Heat Warning? 

Today, we use weather data provided by the NWS to determine when we need to pause disconnections when an Excessive Heat Warning is called in order to keep our customers safe. This pause is called a heat moratorium. 

The NWS issues an Excessive Heat Warning when there is high forecast confidence of a high or very high risk of heat-related illness based on the HeatRisk forecast tool. Since our bodies seasonally acclimate to weather conditions, temperature thresholds for Excessive Heat Warnings are higher during the summer than during late spring and early fall.    

That means we could be experiencing triple-digit heat, something we are very familiar with in Arizona, and not be in an Excessive Heat Warning.   

How do I know if an Excessive Heat Warning is in effect? 

You can always check the status of an Excessive Heat Warning by visiting the NWS website. You can also enroll in alerts and reminders to receive a text or email when an Excessive Heat Warning starts and ends.   

How many heat moratoriums should I expect? 

The number of Excessive Heat Warnings can vary from summer to summer. Factors such as limited rain during the monsoon season can impact heat relief in the Valley. During the monsoon, forecasting the number of consecutive days with conditions supporting high or very high risk of heat-related illness is challenging because of cooling from rainfall and cloud cover.  

Following each summer, SRP meteorologists review the monsoon, placing the weather events in the context of what is expected with climate change and urbanization. This is an important step toward understanding what we can expect of heat risk conditions moving forward.  

How do payments work during heat moratoriums?

We highly encourage customers to make regular payments as usual during heat moratoriums to avoid accumulating a high balance of debt. 

At the end of the heat moratorium, SRP M-Power customers will need to make a purchase to cover any accumulated debt to avoid disconnection following friendly credit hours (between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m.).  

Note: When you sign up for heat warning text and email notifications, we’ll let you know when we expect normal SRP M-Power operations to resume. This way, you can ensure that you have a positive balance before normal operations resume and can avoid disconnection.  

Avoid extended call waiting times coming out of heat moratoriums by making regular purchases online, through the SRP M-Power® app or at one of our 600-plus in-person payment locations.  

Although the National Weather Service can start and end Excessive Heat Warnings at any time, SRP will not resume regular disconnections on weekends or during friendly credit hours. 

Extreme weather disconnect moratoriums

In addition to the NWS issuing Excessive Heat Warnings, they may also issue Freeze Warnings during times of extreme cold weather. SRP will also suspend disconnection of service for nonpayment during these events. It is important to remember that during both Excessive Heat Warnings and Freeze Warnings bills will continue to generate and are due according to SRP standard terms. Late payment fees for past-due bills will continue to be charged; however, accounts will not be disconnected for nonpayment until the disconnection moratorium has ended. If you are having problems paying your bills, please contact us at (602) 236-8888 to discuss your situation.  

You can always view your current balance by logging in to SRP My Account™ online or through the SRP Power app™ and SRP M-Power app.  

How you can prepare for summer 

We know how important it is for our customers to have power, especially during the extreme heat of Arizona’s summers. SRP offers a variety of programs and resources that you can enroll in today to be prepared for tomorrow.  

These support programs include: 

• The Economy Price Plan: A $23 monthly bill credit available to customers with limited incomes. 
• The SRP Safety Net program: Sign up a friend or family member to be alerted if your bill becomes past due.  
• The SRP Medical Preparedness Program: Customers with life-support equipment in their homes can enroll to receive notifications of planned outages to determine if they can remain at their home or need to seek temporary accommodations elsewhere.  
• SRP Customer Resource Counseling: Call us 24/7 at (602) 236-8888 for immediate assistance with your bill, including extensions and advances.   

In addition to these programs, we have several tips for saving energy and money on your summer electricity bills.