NTUA provides resources to customers dealing with hardship

Posted by Kianna Joe | Sep 28, 2023 | News |

PHOENIX – With the weather shifting from a hot summer to a cold winter, a family has raised concerns about assistance provided by the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority.

This past summer, the Navajo Nation declared a state of emergency because of extreme heat, with temperatures reaching over a hundred degrees.

Savannah Gene, a concerned family member, said her elderly family members were left without utilities during the heat waves over the summer. Gene noted for a year, she had noticed drastic fluctuations in her mother’s and aunt’s bills from NTUA.

“One month, it’s normal, and the next month, the bill was like $500, and it would all just build up,” said Gene.

Gene’s mother has a home in the Navajo Nation, and she allows her relatives to stay there as she relocates to Albuquerque for personal needs.

Gene said that the home was often left without a resident, meaning nobody was using the utilities but somehow still racked up a hefty bill from NTUA.
Even when someone was occupying the home, the utility usage was average.

Electricity prices soar

Their bill had also increased for Gene’s aunts even though their utility usage remained unchanged. Gene and her aunts were left wondering why the statements would sometimes be regular and others outrageous.

In an email interview, NTUA’s government and public affairs manager, Deenise Becenti, said that NTUA’s prices differ month to month depending on the fluctuating cost of fuel used to generate electricity and gas.

“NTUA electric rates have not changed over 16 years. The main reason for an increase in cost is due to the power charge known as power cost adjustment and power gas adjustment (PCA/PGA),” said Becenti.

With the changing fuel cost, hydropower had also increased because of the drought on the reservations, said Becenti.

An example Becenti used to help understand the fluctuating bills was gas prices. When the cost of extracting gas increases, so do gas prices when fueling up.
“Some of NTUA’s electricity and gas is purchased under long-term contracts, and some of the power purchased is bought monthly,” said Becenti. “The PCA/PGA item on your bill passes this cost to the customer with no markup. NTUA does not make any extra revenue from the PCA/PGA. It is a direct pass-through charge.”

Gene said during the winter months of 2022, her cousin was staying in her mother’s home but was still using average utilities. A month had passed after her cousin left, and the new bill for the month when no one was in the home was over $500.

Because of the sporadic utility bill amount each month, Gene’s mother built a debt on the NTUA bills and applied for the bill relief program with NTUA. She applied in 2022 and was approved in June 2023, but their debt bill got even larger.

Gene’s aunts’ bills were in the $700 range, and they had to apply for the bill relief program.

Read the full story in the Sept. 28 edition of the Navajo Times.