Aug. 12, 2026: APS ready for more monsoon storms
Thunderstorms hit the Valley this week, toppling over 120 power line poles.
APS, the state’s largest electric utility, reported 23,000 power outages during a storm on Sunday.
Spokesperson Ann Porter says the utility’s maintenance teams are ready for more severe weather this month.
"I think that anyone who lives in Arizona knows that monsoon storms can pack a punch. I will say that it's been a very long time since we’ve seen storms come through that have caused this much damage. I think it was mostly due to incredibly high winds," Porter said.
Porter says most customers had their power back within a couple hours, but it took longer in some cases.
She recommends households and businesses update their contact information on the APS website to receive updates about outages.
Aug. 11, 2026: Thousands without power
Strong winds struck the West Valley overnight, leaving more than 5,000 people still without power on Monday morning.
The Phoenix metro area was under a severe thunderstorm warning and flash floods were expected in Avondale, Goodyear and Buckeye.
As of Monday morning, APS reported outages for 4,549 customers, of which 4,464 are storm-related. A little under 3,000 SRP customers are also without power. The utility says only 872 customers were impacted by the storm. The remaining outages either stem from downed poles, or are still under investigation.
APS was expected to restore power for most customers Monday. Restoration times vary for SRP, but most are expected by the afternoon.
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