Why Arizona Homeowners Are Locking In Their Power Rate Before the 2026 APS Hike

If your APS or SRP bill keeps climbing every summer, you're not imagining it — and 2026 is shaping up to be worse. Here's what's actually happening to Arizona power rates, and why a growing number of Phoenix-area homeowners are quietly moving to lock in their cost before the next increase hits.

The bills are going up — again

APS has filed for a roughly 14% rate increase — about $20 more a month for the average household if approved as proposed. It's working through Arizona Corporation Commission hearings now, with any new rates expected later in 2026. SRP, meanwhile, already restructured its rates in November 2025, changing what many households pay in fixed monthly charges regardless of how much power they use.

Layer that on top of Arizona's brutal summer AC season, and the math only goes one direction. The homeowners getting ahead of it aren't waiting to see how high the bill climbs — they're locking their rate now.

The part most installers won't tell you

Here's how you spot an out-of-date solar pitch: if a company is still advertising the 30% federal tax credit or old-school "net metering" where you sell power back at full retail — they're working off 2024 information.

That doesn't mean solar stopped making sense. It means the strategy changed — and the homeowners who understand the new math are the ones still coming out ahead.

The new play: rate-lock + battery

Under the old rules, you could export extra solar to the grid and basically use it as a bank. Now that export credits are worth about half of retail, the smarter approach is simple: stop selling cheap and buying back expensive.

A battery lets you store the power your panels make at midday and use it in the evening, when rates peak — instead of exporting it for pennies and buying it back at full price. Combined with solar, it effectively freezes your cost of power and takes you off the escalator of APS/SRP increases.

• Lock in your power rate against future hikes
• Use your own stored energy during peak-price hours
• Keep the lights on during outages with battery backup
• No more watching the bill creep up every summer

Is it actually worth it for your home?

Honestly — it depends. It comes down to your roof, how much sun it gets, your current bill, and whether you're on APS, SRP, or TEP. For a lot of Phoenix-area homeowners with rising bills, the numbers work well; for some they don't. The only way to know is to run your specific numbers (results vary by home and usage).

Rates are only headed one way. Whether solar makes sense for you or not, it's worth knowing your numbers before the next increase lands — not after.