In Arizona, utilities have used a counterintuitive tool to help keep the lights on despite the state's ongoing wave of historic heat — they've asked customers to turn their air conditioners down. In July and August, Arizona’s three biggest utilities were able to call on more than 100,000 customers to reduce their electricity use by a total of 276 megawatts during afternoon and evening hours when demand for power was at its peak.
An expert witness for APS recently confirmed in a hearing that large utilities oppose customer-sided energy policies because they cut into shareholder profits.