PHOENIX — Attorney General Kris Mayes has called for immediate federal intervention to address ongoing electric service reliability problems at the San Carlos Irrigation Project (SCIP). In a letter sent to Department of the Interior (DOI) Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland, Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Darryl LaCounte, and BIA Regional Director Jessie Durham, Mayes highlighted recent service outages, including a significant disruption on August 13, 2024, which has affected SCIP's 13,000 customers.
"The Department of the Interior and Bureau of Indian Affairs must take immediate action to address these service interruptions," said Attorney General Mayes. "Reliable electricity is critical, not just for comfort but for the health and safety of SCIP's customers during extreme summer heat. I am particularly concerned that SCIP's reliability issues are exposing its customers to avoidable, potentially deadly risk during the hottest months of the year."
The letter emphasized that SCIP has consistently failed in its mission to provide reliable and affordable electrical power. Frequent power outages and high electricity bills were noted as unacceptable, especially given that many SCIP customers face extreme heat conditions. Concerns about SCIP's management and operations were also raised as the Bureau of Indian Affairs considers transferring SCIP's assets and responsibilities to other electric utilities.
Attorney General Mayes requested several immediate actions: funding for cooling centers and ice giveaways, bill credits to prevent service disconnections, and accelerated funding for reliability improvements.
A response from the Bureau of Indian Affairs is expected within two weeks, detailing their planned actions to mitigate the ongoing reliability issues.