| Regulatory Matters | Regulatory Matters COVID-19 Pandemic Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, APS voluntarily suspended disconnections of customers for nonpayment and waived late payment fees beginning March 13, 2020 until December 31, 2020. The suspension of disconnection of customers for nonpayment ended on January 1, 2021 and customers were automatically placed on eight-month payment arrangements if they had past due balances at the end of the disconnection period of $75 or greater. APS is continuing to waive late payment fees. APS has experienced and is continuing to experience an increase in bad debt expense associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Summer Disconnection Moratorium (defined below) and the related write-offs of customer delinquent accounts. In February 2021, due to COVID-19, APS delayed the annual reset of the PSA. Rather than the increase being effective February 2021, the PSA reset was implemented with 50% of the increase effective April 2021 and the remaining 50% increase effective November 2021 (see below for discussion of EIS, TEAM Phase II and PSA). On April 17, 2020, APS filed an application with the ACC requesting a COVID-19 emergency relief package to provide additional assistance to its customers. On May 5, 2020, the ACC approved APS returning $36 million that had been collected through the Demand Side Management (“DSM”) Adjustor Charge, but not allocated for current DSM programs, directly to customers through a bill credit in June 2020. APS has refunded approximately $43 million to customers. The additional $7 million over the approved amount of $36 million was the result of the kWh credit being based on historic consumption, which was different than actual consumption in the refund p eriod. The difference was recorded to the DSM balancing account and was included in the 2021 DSM Implementation Plan, which was approved by the ACC on June 13, 2021 (see below for discussion of the DSM Adjustor Charge). In 2020, APS spent more than $15 million to assist customers and local non-profits and community organizations to help with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with $12.4 million of these dollars directly committed to bill assistance programs (the “COVID Customer Support Fund”). The COVID Customer Support Fund was comprised of a series of voluntary commitments of funds that are not recoverable through rates throughout 2020 of approximately $8.8 million. An additional $3.6 million in bill credits for limited income customers was ordered by the ACC in December 2020 of which 50%, up to a maximum of $2.5 million, was committed to be funds that are not recoverable through rates with the remaining being deferred for potential future recovery in rates. Included in the COVID Customer Support Fund were programs that assisted customers that had a delinquency of two or more months with a one-time credit of $100, an expanded credit of $300 for limited income customers, programs to assist extra small and small non-residential customers with a one-time credit of $1,000, and other targeted programs allocated to assist with other COVID-19 needs in support of utility bill assistance. The December 2020 ACC order further assisted delinquent limited income customers with an additional bill credit of up to $250 or their delinquent balance, whichever was less. APS has distributed all funds for all COVID Customer Support Fund programs combined. Beyond the COVID Customer Support Fund, APS has also provided $2.7 million to assist local non-profits and community organizations working to mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. 2019 Retail Rate Case Filing with the Arizona Corporation Commission In accordance with the requirements of the 2019 rate review order described below, APS filed an application with the ACC on October 31, 2019 (the “2019 Rate Case”) seeking an increase in annual retail base rates of $69 million. This amount includes recovery of the deferral and rate base effects of the Four Corners selective catalytic reduction (“SCR”) project that was the subject of a separate proceeding (see “SCR Cost Recovery” below). It also reflects a net credit to base rates of approximately $115 million primarily due to the prospective inclusion of rate refunds currently provided through the Tax Expense Adjustment Mechanism (“TEAM”). The proposed total annual revenue increase in APS’s application is $184 million. The average annual customer bill impact of APS’s request is an increase of 5.6% (the average annual bill impact for a typical APS residential customer is 5.4%). The principal provisions of APS’s application were: • a test year comprised of 12 months ended June 30, 2019, adjusted as described below; • an original cost rate base of $8.87 billion, which approximates the ACC-jurisdictional portion of the book value of utility assets, net of accumulated depreciation and other credits; • the following proposed capital structure and costs of capital: Capital Structure Cost of Capital Long-term debt 45.3 % 4.10 % Common stock equity 54.7 % 10.15 % Weighted-average cost of capital 7.41 % • a 1% return on the increment of fair value rate base above APS’s original cost rate base, as provided for by Arizona law; • a rate of $0.030168 per kWh for the portion of APS’s retail base rates attributable to fuel and purchased power costs (“Base Fuel Rate”); • authorization to defer until APS’s next general rate case the increase or decrease in its Arizona property taxes attributable to tax rate changes after the date the rate application is adjudicated; • a number of proposed rate and program changes for residential customers, including: ▪ a super off-peak period during the winter months for APS’s time-of-use with demand rates; ▪ additional $1.25 million in funding for APS’s limited-income crisis bill program; and ▪ a flat bill/subscription rate pilot program; • proposed rate design changes for commercial customers, including an experimental program designed to provide access to market pricing for up to 200 MW of medium and large commercial customers; • recovery of the deferral and rate base effects of the construction and operating costs of the Ocotillo modernization project (see discussion below of the 2017 Settlement Agreement); and • continued recovery of the remaining investment and other costs related to the retirement and closure of the Navajo Generating Station (the “Navajo Plant”) (see “Navajo Plant” below). On October 2, 2020, the ACC Staff, the Residential Utility Consumer Office (“RUCO”) and other intervenors filed their initial written testimony with the ACC in the 2019 Rate Case. The ACC Staff recommended, among other things, (i) a $89.7 million revenue increase, (ii) an average annual customer bill increase of 2.7%, (iii) a return on equity of 9.4%, (iv) a 0.3% or, as an alternative, a 0% return on the increment of fair value rate base greater than original cost , (v) the recovery of the deferral and rate base effects of the construction and operating costs of the Four Corners SCR project and (vi) the recovery of the rate base effects of the construction and ongoing consideration of the deferral of the Ocotillo modernization project. RUCO recommended, among other things, (i) a $20.8 million revenue decrease, (ii) an average annual customer bill decrease of 0.63%, (iii) a return on equity of 8.74%, (iv) a 0% return on the increment of fair value rate base, (v) the nonrecovery of the deferral and rate base effects of the construction and operating costs of the Four Corners SCR project pending further consideration, and (vi) the recovery of the deferral and rate base effects of the construction and operating costs of the Ocotillo modernization project. The filed ACC Staff and intervenor testimony include additional recommendations, some of which materially differ from APS’s filed application. On November 6, 2020, APS filed its rebuttal testimony and the principal provisions which differ from its initial application include, among other things, a (i) $169 million revenue increase, (ii) average annual customer bill increase of 5.14%, (iii) return on equity of 10%, (iv) return on the increment of fair value rate base of 0.8%, (v) new cost recovery adjustor mechanism, the Advanced Energy Mechanism (“AEM”), to enable more timely recovery of clean investments as APS pursues its clean energy commitment, (vi) recognition that securitization is a potentially useful financing tool to recover the remaining book value of retiring assets and effectuate a transition to a cleaner energy future that APS intends to pursue, provided legislative hurdles are addressed, and (vii) a Coal Community Transition (“CCT”) plan related to the closure or future closure of coal-fired generation facilities, of which $25 million would be funds that are not recoverable through rates with a proposal that the remainder be funded by customers over 10 years. The CCT plan includes the following proposed components: (i) $100 million that will be paid over 10 years to the Navajo Nation for a sustainable transition to a post-coal economy, which would be funded by customers, (ii) $1.25 million that will be paid over five years to the Navajo Nation to fund an economic development organization, which would be funds not recoverable through rates, (iii) $10 million to facilitate electrification projects within the Navajo Nation, which would be funded equally by funds not recoverable through rates and by customers, (iv) $2.5 million per year in transmission revenue sharing to be paid to the Navajo Nation beginning after the closure of the Four Corners Power Plant through 2038, which would be funds not recoverable through rates, (v) $12 million that will be paid over five years to the Navajo County Communities surrounding Cholla Power Plant, which would primarily be funded by customers, and (vi) $3.7 million that will be paid over five years to the Hopi Tribe related to APS’s ownership interests in the Navajo Generating Station, which would primarily be funded by customers. The commitment of funds that would not be recoverable through rates of $25 million were recognized in our December 31, 2020 financials. On December 4, 2020, the ACC Staff and intervenors filed surrebuttal testimony. The ACC Staff reduced its recommended rate increase to $59.8 million, or an average annual customer bill increase of 1.82%. In RUCO’s surrebuttal, the recommended revenue decrease changed to $50.1 million, or an average annual customer bill decrease of 1.52%. The hearing concluded on March 3, 2021 and the post-hearing briefing concluded on April 30, 2021. In May 2021, the ACC declined to re-open the evidentiary record in the 2019 Rate Case to take additional evidence on topics raised by certain ACC Commissioners, including adjustor cost recovery mechanisms. On August 2, 2021, the Administrative Law Judge issued a Recommended Opinion and Order in the 2019 Rate Case (the “2019 Rate Case ROO”) and issued corrections on September 10 and September 20, 2021. The 2019 Rate Case ROO recommends, among other things, (i) a $111 million decrease in annual revenue requirements, (ii) a return on equity of 9.16%, (iii) a 0.30% return on the increment of fair value rate base greater than original cost, with total fair value rate of return further adjusted to include a 0.03% reduction to return on equity resulting in an effective fair value rate of return of 4.95%, (iv) the nonrecovery of the deferral and rate base effects of the operating costs and construction of the Four Corners SCR project (see “Four Corners SCR Cost Recovery” below for additional in formation), (v) the recovery of the deferral and rate base effects of the operating costs and construction of the Ocotillo modernization project, which includes a reduction in the return on the deferral, (vi) a 15% disallowance of annual amortization of Navajo Plant regulatory asset recovery, (vii) the denial of the request to defer, until APS’s next general rate case, the increase or decrease in its Arizona property taxes attributable to tax rate changes, and (viii) a collaborative process to review and recommend revisions to APS’s adjustment mechanisms within 12 months after the date of the decision. The 2019 Rate Case ROO also recommended that the CCT plan include the following components: (i) $50 million that will be paid over 10 years to the Navajo Nation, (ii) $5 million that will be paid over five years to the Navajo County Communities surrounding Cholla Power Plant, and (iii) $1.675 million that will be paid to the Hopi Tribe related to APS’s ownership interests in the Navajo Plant. These amounts would be recoverable from APS’s customers through the Arizona Renewable Energy Standard and Tariff (“RES”) adjustment mechanism. APS filed exceptions on September 13, 2021 regarding the disallowance of the SCR cost deferrals and plant investments that was recommended in the 2019 Rate Case ROO, among other issues. On October 6, 2021 and October 27, 2021, the ACC voted on various amendments to the 2019 Rate Case ROO that would result in, among other things, (i) a return on equity of 8.70%, (ii) the recovery of the deferral and rate base effects of the operating costs and construction of the Four Corners SCR project, with the exception of $215.5 million (see “Four Corners SCR Cost Recovery” below), (iii) that the CCT plan include the following components: (a) a payment of $1 million to the Hopi Tribe within 60 days of the 2019 Rate Case decision, (b) a payment of $10 million over three years to the Navajo Nation, (c) a payment of $500,000 to the Navajo County communities within 60 days of the 2019 Rate Case decision, (d) up to $1.25 million for electrification of homes and businesses on the Hopi reservation within 12 months of the 2019 Rate Case decision and (e) up to $1.25 million for the electrification of homes and businesses on the Navajo Nation reservation within 12 months of the 2019 Rate Case decision. These payments and expenditures are attributable to the future closures of Four Corners and Cholla, along with the prior closure of the Navajo Plant and all ordered payments and expenditures would be recoverable through rates, and (iv) a change in the residential on-peak time of use period from 3 p.m.-8 p.m. to 4 p.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. The 2019 Rate Case ROO, as amended, results in a total annual revenue decrease for APS of $4.8 million, excluding temporary CCT payments and expenditures. On November 2, 2021, the ACC approved the 2019 Rate Case ROO, as amended. APS intends to file with the ACC an application for rehearing of the 2019 Rate Case. If the ACC does not approve this application, APS intends to appeal the decision in the 2019 Rate Case and is considering all other available and appropriate options. APS cannot predict the outcome of this proceeding. APS expects to file an application with the ACC for its next general retail rate case in the near future but is continuing to evaluate the timing of such filing. 2016 Retail Rate Case Filing with the Arizona Corporation Commission On June 1, 2016, APS filed an application with the ACC for an annual increase in retail base rates. On March 27, 2017, a majority of the stakeholders in the general retail rate case, including the ACC Staff, RUCO, limited income advocates and private rooftop solar organizations signed a settlement agreement (the “2017 Settlement Agreement”) and filed it with the ACC. The 2017 Settlement Agreement provides for a net retail base rate increase of $94.6 million, excluding the transfer of adjustor balances, consisting of: (1) a non-fuel, non-depreciation, base rate increase of $87.2 million per year; (2) a base rate decrease of $53.6 million attributable to reduced fuel and purchased power costs; and (3) a base rate increase of $61.0 million due to changes in depreciation schedules. The average annual customer bill impact under the 2017 Settlement Agreement was calculated as an increase of 3.28% (the average annual bill impact for a typical APS residential customer was calculated as an increase of 4.54%). Other key provisions of the agreement include the following: • an authorized return on common equity of 10.0%; • a capital structure comprised of 44.2% debt and 55.8% common equity; • a cost deferral order for potential future recovery in APS’s next general retail rate case for the construction and operating costs APS incurs for its Ocotillo modernization project; • a cost deferral and procedure to allow APS to request rate adjustments prior to its next general retail rate case related to its share of the construction costs associated with installing SCR equipment at the Four Corners Power Plant (“Four Corners”); • a deferral for future recovery (or credit to customers) of the Arizona property tax expense above or below a specified test year level caused by changes to the applicable Arizona property tax rate; • an expansion of the Power Supply Adjustor (“PSA”) to include certain environmental chemical costs and third-party energy storage costs; • a new AZ Sun II program (now known as “APS Solar Communities”) for utility-owned solar distributed generation with the purpose of expanding access to rooftop solar for low and moderate income Arizonans, recoverable through the RES, to be no less than $10 million per year in capital costs, and not more than $15 million per year in capital costs; • an increase to the per kWh cap for the environmental improvement surcharge from $0.00016 to $0.00050 and the addition of a balancing account; • rate design changes, including: ▪ a change in the on-peak time of use period from noon-7 p.m. to 3 p.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding holidays; ▪ non-grandfathered distributed generation (“DG”) customers would be required to select a rate option that has time of use rates and either a new grid access charge or demand component; ▪ a Resource Comparison Proxy (“RCP”) for exported energy of 12.9 cents per kWh in year one; and • an agreement by APS not to pursue any new self-build generation (with certain exceptions) having an in-service date prior to January 1, 2022 (extended to December 31, 2027 for combined-cycle generating units), unless expressly authorized by the ACC. Through a separate agreement, APS, industry representatives, and solar advocates committed to stand by the 2017 Settlement Agreement and refrain from seeking to undermine it through ballot initiatives, legislation or advocacy at the ACC. On August 15, 2017, the ACC approved (by a vote of 4-1) the 2017 Settlement Agreement without material modifications. On August 18, 2017, the ACC issued a final written Opinion and Order reflecting its decision in APS’s general retail rate case (the “2017 Rate Case Decision”), which is subject to requests for rehearing and potential appeal. The new rates went into effect on August 19, 2017. On January 3, 2018, an APS customer filed a petition with the ACC that was determined by the ACC Staff to be a complaint filed pursuant to Arizona Revised Statute §40-246 (the “Complaint”). The Complaint was later amended alleging that the rates and charges in the 2017 Rate Case Decision are not just and reasonable. The ACC held a hearing on this matter, and the Administrative Law Judge issued a Recommended Opinion and Order recommending that the Complaint be dismissed. On July 3, 2019, the Administrative Law Judge issued an amendment to the Recommended Opinion and Order that incorporated the requirements of the rate review of the 2017 Rate Case Decision (see below discussion regarding the rate review). On July 10, 2019, the ACC adopted the Administrative Law Judge’s amended Recommended Opinion and Order along with several ACC Commissioner amendments and an amendment incorporating the results of the rate review and resolved the Complaint. See “Rate Plan Comparison Tool and Investigation” below for information regarding a review and investigation pertaining to the rate plan comparison tool offered to APS customers and other related issues. ACC Review of APS 2017 Rate Case Decision On December 24, 2018, certain ACC Commissioners filed a letter stating that because the ACC had received a substantial number of complaints that the rate increase authorized by the 2017 Rate Case Decision was much more than anticipated, they believe there is a possibility that APS is earning more than was authorized by the 2017 Rate Case Decision. Accordingly, the ACC Commissioners requested the ACC Staff to perform a rate review of APS using calendar year 2018 as a test year. The ACC Commissioners also asked the ACC Staff to evaluate APS’s efforts to educate its customers regarding the new rates approved in the 2017 Rate Case Decision. On June 4, 2019, the ACC Staff filed a proposed order regarding the rate review of the 2017 Rate Case Decision. On June 11, 2019, the ACC Commissioners approved the proposed ACC Staff order with amendments. The key provisions of the amended order include the following: • APS must file a rate case no later than October 31, 2019, using a June 30, 2019 test year; • until the conclusion of the rate case being filed no later than October 31, 2019, APS must provide information on customer bills that shows how much a customer would pay on their most economical rate given their actual usage during each month; • APS customers can switch rate plans during an open enrollment period of six months; • APS must identify customers whose bills have increased by more than 9% and that are not on the most economical rate and provide such customers with targeted education materials and an opportunity to switch rate plans; • APS must provide grandfathered net metering customers on legacy demand rates an opportunity to switch to another legacy rate to enable such customers to fully benefit from legacy net metering rates; • APS must fund and implement a supplemental customer education and outreach program to be developed with and administered by ACC Staff and a third-party consultant; and • APS must fund and organize, along with the third-party consultant, a stakeholder group to suggest better ways to communicate the impact of changes to adjustor cost recovery mechanisms (see below for discussion on cost recovery mechanisms), including more effective ways to educate customers on rate plans and to reduce energy usage. APS filed its rate case on October 31, 2019 (see “2019 Retail Rate Case Filing with the Arizona Corporation Commission” above for more information). APS does not believe that the implementation of the other key provisions of the amended order regarding the rate review will have a material impact on its financial position, results of operations or cash flows. On May 19, 2020, the ACC Staff filed a third-party consultant’s report which evaluated the effectiveness of APS’s customer outreach and education program related to the 2017 Rate Case Decision. On May 29, 2020, the Chairman of the ACC filed a letter with the ACC in response to this report and is alleging that APS is out of compliance with the 2017 Rate Case Decision and is over-earning. The Chairman proposed that the current rates should be classified as interim rates and customers held harmless if APS’s activities have caused the rates set in the 2017 Rate Case Decision to not be just and reasonable. Also, on May 29, 2020, a second commissioner filed a letter with the ACC agreeing with the Chairman’s assertions and further asserting that the 2017 Rate Case Decision should be re-opened. On June 18, 2020, at an ACC Open Meeting, the matters raised in these letters were discussed. The ACC did not vote to move forward with any adjustments to APS’s current rates. On November 4, 2020, the ACC voted to administratively close this docket. Cost Recovery Mechanisms APS has received regulatory decisions that allow for more timely recovery of certain costs outside of a general retail rate case through the following recovery mechanisms. Renewable Energy Standard . In 2006, the ACC approved the RES. Under the RES, electric utilities that are regulated by the ACC must supply an increasing percentage of their retail electric energy sales from eligible renewable resources, including solar, wind, biomass, biogas and geothermal technologies. In order to achieve these requirements, the ACC allows APS to include a RES surcharge as part of customer bills to recover the approved amounts for use on renewable energy projects. Each year, APS is required to file a five-year implementation plan with the ACC and seek approval for funding the upcoming year’s RES budget. In 2015, the ACC revised the RES rules to allow the ACC to consider all available information, including the number of rooftop solar arrays in a utility’s service territory, to determine compliance with the RES. On November 20, 2017, APS filed an updated 2018 RES budget to include budget adjustments for APS Solar Communities (formerly known as AZ Sun II), which was approved as part of the 2017 Rate Case Decision. APS Solar Communities is a 3-year program authorizing APS to spend $10 million to $15 million in capital costs each year to install utility-owned DG systems for low to moderate income residential homes, non-profit entities, Title I schools and rural government facilities. The 2017 Rate Case Decision provided that all operations and maintenance expenses, property taxes, marketing and advertising expenses, and the capital carrying costs for this program will be recovered through the RES. On July 1, 2019, APS filed its 2020 RES Implementation Plan and proposed a budget of approximately $86.3 million. APS’s budget request supports existing approved projects and commitments and requests a permanent waiver of the residential distributed energy requirement for 2020 contained in the RES rules. On September 23, 2020, the ACC approved the 2020 RES Implementation Plan, including a waiver of the residential distributed energy requirements for the 2020 implementation year. In addition, the ACC approved the implementation of a new pilot program that incentivizes Arizona households to install at-home battery systems. Recovery of the costs associated with the pilot will be addressed in the 2021 Demand Side Management Implementation Plan (“DSM Plan”). On July 1, 2020, APS filed its 2021 RES Implementation Plan and proposed a budget of approximately $84.7 million. APS’s budget request supports existing approved projects and commitments and requests a permanent waiver of the residential distributed energy requirement for 2021 contained in the RES rules. In the 2021 RES Implementation Plan, APS requested $4.5 million to meet revenue requirements associated with the APS Solar Communities program to complete installations delayed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. On June 7, 2021, the ACC approved the 2021 RES Implementation Plan including a waiver of the residential distributed energy requirements for the 2021 implementation year. As part of the approval, the ACC approved the requested budget and authorized APS to collect $68.3 million through the Renewable Energy Adjustment Charge to support APS’s RES programs. On May 21, 2021, the ACC adopted a clean energy rules package which would require APS to meet certain clean energy standards and technology procurement mandates, obtain approval for its action plan included in its IRP, and seek cost recovery in a rate process. The adopted rules included substantial changes since the original Recommended Opinion and Order, and thus will require supplemental rulemaking before taking effect. APS cannot predict the outcome of this matter. See “Energy Modernization Plan” below for more information. On July 1, 2021, APS filed its 2022 RES Implementation Plan and proposed a budget of approximately $93.1 million. APS’s budget proposal supports existing approved projects and commitments and requests a permanent waiver of the residential and non-residential distributed energy requirements for 2022 contained in the RES rules. The ACC has not yet ruled on the 2022 RES Implementation Plan. Demand Side Management Adjustor Charge . The ACC Electric Energy Efficiency Standards require APS to submit a DSM Plan annually for review by and approval of the ACC. Verified energy savings from APS’s resource savings projects can be counted toward compliance with the Electric Energy Efficiency Standards; however, APS is not allowed to count savings from systems savings projects toward determination of the achievement of performance incentives, nor may APS include savings from these system savings projects in the calculation of its Lost Fixed Cost Recovery (“LFCR”) mechanism (see below for discussion of the LFCR). On September 1, 2017, APS filed its 2018 DSM Plan, which proposed modifications to the demand side management portfolio to better meet system and customer needs by focusing on peak demand reductions, storage, load shifting and demand response programs in addition to traditional energy savings measures. The 2018 DSM Plan sought a requested budget of $52.6 million and requested a waiver of the Electric Energy Efficiency Standard for 2018. On November 14, 2017, APS filed an amended 2018 DSM Plan, which revised the allocations between budget items to address customer participation levels but kept the overall budget at $52.6 million. On December 31, 2018, APS filed its 2019 DSM Plan, which requested a budget of $34.1 million and focused on DSM strategies to better meet system and customer needs, such as peak demand reduction, load shifting, storage and electrification strategies. On December 31, 2019, APS filed its 2020 DSM Plan, which requested a budget of $51.9 million and continued APS’s focus on DSM strategies such as peak demand reduction, load shifting, storage and electrification strategies. The 2020 DSM Plan addressed all components of the pending 2018 and 2019 DSM plans, which enabled the ACC to review the 2020 DSM Plan only. On May 15, 2020, APS filed an amended 2020 DSM Plan to provide assistance to customers experiencing economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The amended 2020 DSM Plan requested the same budget amount of $51.9 million. On September 23, 2020, the ACC approved the amended 2020 DSM Plan. On April 17, 2020, APS filed an application with the ACC requesting a COVID-19 emergency relief package to provide additional assistance to its customers. On May 5, 2020, the ACC approved APS returning $36 million that had been collected through the DSM Adjustor Charge, but not allocated for current DSM programs, directly to customers through a bill credit in June 2020. APS has refunded approximately $43 million to customers. The additional $7 million over the approved amount was the result of the kWh credit being based on historic consumption which was different than actual consumption in the refund period. The difference was recorded to the DSM balancing account and was included in the 2021 DSM Implementation Plan, which was approved by the ACC on June 13, 2021. On December 31, 2020, APS filed its 2021 DSM Plan, which requested a budget of $63.7 million and continued APS’s focus on DSM strategies, such as peak demand reduction, load shifting, storage and electrification strategies, as well as enhanced assistance to customers impacted economically by COVID-19. On April 6, 2021, APS filed an amended 2021 DSM Plan that proposed an additional performance incentive for customers participating in the residential energy storage pilot approved in the 2020 RES Implementation Plan. On July 13, 2021, the ACC approved the amended 2021 DSM Plan. On April 20, 2021, APS filed a request to extend the June 1, 2021 deadline to file its 2022 DSM Plan until 120 days after the ACC has taken action on APS’s amended 2021 DSM Plan. The ACC approved the request, granting an extension until 120 days after the ACC action on the 2021 DSM Plan, or December 31, 2021, whichever is later. Power Supply Adjustor Mechanism and Balance. The PSA provides for the adjustment of retail rates to reflect variations primarily in retail fuel and purchased power costs. The following table shows the changes in the deferred fuel and purchased power regulatory asset for 2021 and 2020 (dollars in thousands): Nine Months Ended 2021 2020 Beginning balance $ 175,835 $ 70,137 Deferred fuel and purchased power costs — current period 224,541 82,679 Amounts (charged) refunded to customers (25,195) 9,295 Ending balance $ 375,181 $ 162,111 The PSA rate for the PSA year beginning February 1, 2019 was $0.001658 per kWh, as compared to the $0.004555 per kWh for the prior year. This rate was comprised of a forward component of $0.000536 per kWh and a historical component of $0.001122 per kWh. This represented a $0.002897 per kWh decrease compared to 2018. These rates went into effect as filed o |
