PHOENIX (AP) — Stephanie Pullman died one day in sweltering Arizona after a blackout due to $51 in debt.

Five years later, the 72-year-old man’s story is still at the heart of efforts to prevent Arizona from losing power and life-saving air conditioning in temperatures above 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius) each day this month.

“Stephanie Pullman was the face of a fight that helped introduce a disconnection rule for a major regulated utility in Arizona,” said Stacey Champion, an advocate who pushed for the new regulation. “But we need more.”

Arizona State Public Service, known as APS, cut off power to Pullman in September 2018 when outside temperatures reached 107 degrees Fahrenheit (41.6 degrees Celsius) in a retirement community west of Phoenix. Just a few days ago, a $125 payment was made against Pullman’s overdue invoice of $176.

Her body was later found in her home during a medical examination.

The coroner’s office said Pullman died from a combination of post-closure cardiovascular disease and “environmental heat exposure.”

Like many older residents of the Valley’s retirement community, Pullman is a native Midwesterner who lived alone after moving from Ohio, where his family remained.

Details about Ms Pullman’s life are unclear because her family cannot discuss the matter based on a private legal settlement with APS.

“I can’t speak,” Pullman’s son Tim Pullman, who received the call in Ohio, said.

Champion said her family suddenly stopped talking to her after the 2019 settlement.

APS didn’t mention the settlement when it was contacted last week, but said in a statement that it was “we are here to help our customers and we are working to make sure they stay connected over the summer.”

In the wake of Pullman’s death, champions have demanded new rules to prevent the shutdown. The incident raised awareness about the dangers of extreme heat and sparked change.

“People are becoming more aware that low-income people can lose power in their homes at any time,” said Tom Ryan, a consumer advocate and Phoenix attorney familiar with the Pullman case. “I wonder if someone spared her $51?”

In 2019, the Arizona Commission of Corporations, which regulates most of the state’s public utilities, issued an order suspending summer shutdowns by APS and other power companies it oversees.

Last year, the commission permanently banned blackouts during the hottest months.

Utilities can choose to suspend disconnection from June 1 through October 15, or suspend disconnection on days when temperatures are forecast to be above 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 degrees Celsius) or below 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius). APS; Tucson Power Serving Arizona’s Second Largest City. UniSource, which powers Mojave and Santa Cruz counties, opted for the date-based option.

APS confirmed that “overdue housing accounts will not be disconnected until mid-October” and late fees will be waived during that period. “If you are experiencing a delinquent bill, please contact us.

APS is a principal subsidiary of Pinnacle West Capital Corp., a publicly traded company, with approximately 1.2 million customers. Qualifying individuals, such as her family of three with a gross monthly income of less than $4,143 and single-person households with a gross monthly income of $2,430 or less, receive up to a 25% discount on utility bills.

The Salt River Project (SRP), Arizona’s second-largest power utility, is known more as a power and irrigation district than a power utility, serving approximately 1.1 million customers. In addition, it supplies water to part of the valley. As a community-based, non-profit district, SRP is not overseen by state boards and is governed by an elected board and council.

The SRP has announced that it will suspend power outages during the excessive heat warning issued by the National Weather Service. But Champion noted that some people die without such warning on hot days.

Amid the current heat wave, SRP announced on Friday that it will suspend all unpaid cancellations for residential and commercial customers until July, and will not cut unpaid economy rate plans for customers with limited income until August.

“SRP’s priority is to maintain reliable and affordable power for our customers and we understand the importance of continuing to serve our customers during Arizona’s hot summer months,” the utility said in response to an inquiry. “We take the safety of our customers seriously and have programs in place to help those in need.”

“We encourage customers who are having difficulty paying their bills for any reason to contact us as soon as possible so that we can provide a solution to avoid further financial distress,” the company said in a separate statement.

Governor Katie Hobbs sent a letter to Arizona’s power companies on Friday asking them to detail their plans during the current blackout heat wave, how they will deal with possible grid outages, and how they will respond in the event of an emergency power outage.

Champion said he believes state legislation would help ensure stricter rules for utility outages, but nothing has been introduced in the state legislature.

Within the city limits of Phoenix, ordinances require landlords to cool air conditioning units to temperatures below 82 degrees Fahrenheit (28 degrees Celsius) and evaporative coolers to reduce temperatures to 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius). Both types of cooling units should be maintained in good condition.

Maricopa County reported Wednesday that as of July 15, it had 18 confirmed heat-related deaths this year dating back to April 11. A further 69 deaths are still under investigation.

Only four confirmed heat-related deaths in 2023 occurred indoors. In three cases the air conditioning was out of order and in one case there was electricity but no power.

Maricopa County has confirmed 425 heat-related deaths in 2022 during the region’s hottest summer on record, with more than half of those occurring in July. 80% of deaths occurred outdoors.

Like Pullman, most of the 30 people who died indoors in the county last year were isolated, had mobility problems or medical problems. One of them, an 83-year-old woman with dementia, died in a house without an air conditioner switched on. She has been living alone since her husband entered hospice care.

A utility subsidy program for homeowners and renters in the state has existed for years, but proponents say efforts to protect people from blackouts on America’s hottest major subway have increased since Pullman’s death.

Local governments and nonprofits often pay utility bills with no repayment obligations, and the Arizona Department of Economic Security also assists with billing.

Efforts to help repair and replace faulty cooling systems have also increased.

In April, Maricopa County used federal funding to allocate an additional $10 million to eligible air conditioner replacement and repair programs, bringing the total funding to $13.7 million.

In the Valley and some rural Arizona counties, older low-income residents can get free air conditioning repairs or replacements through the Healthy Homes Air Conditioning Program, operated by the nonprofit Foundation for Older Living. Last summer, about 30 people were able to purchase new air conditioners or repairs.

In a sign of the dangers to the elderly, two sisters were rescued from a surprise home earlier this month after police found them in a sweltering heat of 114 degrees Fahrenheit (45.5 degrees Celsius) after their cooling system failed.

“I hate the heat here,” Paula Martinez, 93, told Fox 10 News. Officers took her and her 87-year-old sister, Linda, to a senior center to cool off and bought new air conditioners with the ministry’s community grants.

Surprised police sergeant. Richard Hernandez said he still remembers him and his fellow police officers when Pullman died just five miles (8 kilometers) away.

“There’s certainly more awareness now than there used to be,” Hernandez said. “We kept saying, ‘If only we knew, we could have helped.'”

!