The summer months are just around the corner, and for many residents, that means higher utility bills. It is not uncommon for costs to skyrocket during the desert heat, often doubling or tripling. However, there are basic ways to keep costs in check and get help doing it.

Today nonprofit group Solar United Neighbors (SUN) announced the launch of the Phoenix Solar Co-op to help Phoenix-area residents go solar together. The solar co-op is an opportunity for local homeowners and small businesses to learn about solar energy and if it is right for them.

Wind and solar now generate about half of New Mexico's electricity, roughly 40% in Colorado and about a third in Nevada. In Wyoming, they account for around 30%, while Idaho gets about a quarter. In Arizona and Utah, wind and solar produce about 20% of electricity. A big reason: falling costs.

Attorney General Kris Mayes is challenging several recent Arizona Corporation Commission decisions, sparking frustration from a body often considered Arizona’s fourth branch of government. In the month of March alone, Mayes’ office filed three rehearing requests in three separate commission matters, accusing commissioners of violating state law, ignoring the commission’s own rules or acting contrary to the best interests of utility customers. Mayes’ office has also filed a lawsuit over the commission’s approval of a controversial data center contract and is intervening in two rate cases involving Arizona Public Service and Tucson Electric Power.

APS will no longer cut off customers’ electricity when temperatures spike above 95 degrees, no matter the time of year. On Wednesday, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced a $7 million settlement agreement with Arizona Public Service over the utility’s account disconnection policies during periods of high heat.

Diane Brown has spent the past four decades advocating for consumers with the Public Interest Research Group. Twenty of those years have been spent in the Grand Canyon state, where she serves as the executive director of the Arizona Public Interest Research Group. Brown sat down with the Arizona Capitol Times to chat about her pragmatic approach to policymaking and focus on energy issues.

Temperatures in the Phoenix area climb above 100 degrees 111 days out of the year, on average — some parts of Arizona endure even longer heat seasons. And more than 1 million people in the state work in jobs where they’re regularly exposed to these extreme temperatures, according to an estimate from the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The election for the board of the Salt River Project is normally very quiet. It's an off-cycle election in the middle of April with an archaic voting model that allows only some property owners to even vote. But it certainly wasn’t quiet this time around.