Utility bills in Arizona: How to pay, where to pay and how get help

The options for paying your utility bill range from making payments in person to doing so through the mail, over the internet or using cellphone apps.

Where and how to pay your utility bill in Arizona

Arizona Public Service Co. offers a range of payment choices, including in-person at check-cashing stores and payment kiosks. These and other options can be viewed at https://www.aps.com/waystopay.

Salt River Project accepts payments at about 600 supermarkets, convenience stores and other locations around metro Phoenix. Options can be viewed at https://www.srpnet.com/, under the section on paying your electric bill.

Some utility bill-payment services incur convenience fees in the range of $2 to $3 per transaction, including those made by credit or debit cards. No such fees typically apply on auto payments, where customers sign up to have payments withdrawn on a set schedule from a checking or savings account.

Southwest Gas customers who want to pay in person can use any of more than 180 local pay stations, including supermarket outlets, gasoline stations, Walmart stores and other locations. Payments also can be made online, through mobile apps, at the company’s website, through the mail and through an automated phone voice-response system. For more information, visit https://www.swgas.com/waystopay.

If you need help making payments

Customers in need also can obtain help with their utility bills in several ways.

The APS website explains a number of low-income or temporary-assistance payment options, ranging from LIHEAP, the Low Income Housing Energy Assistance Program, to the Salvation Army’s Project Share. Some provide temporary assistance while others are of a more permanent nature. Details can be found at https://www.aps.com/waystopay.

Similarly, SRP offers various assistance programs for customers in need, ranging from the Salvation Army’s Project Share to a $23 monthly discount for income-eligible customers who enroll in the company’s Economy Price Plan.

SRP customer service representatives are empowered to help resolve customer needs, including finding the best payment plan option. SRP also has specially trained counselors who work with customers, in English or Spanish, to connect them to community agencies and specific cities offering help with utility bills. Customers can visit srp.net/assistance to learn more about the types of assistance available.  

Southwest Gas offers a bill-assistance program, a low-income ratepayer program, help with weatherization/home improvement projects and more. These can be viewed in the Arizona Special Programs and Assistance section at https://www.swgas.com/.

The move away from utility customer service centers

With little fanfare, Southwest Gas closed its main customer-service office in Phoenix at the end of August 2023, the latest utility to scrap in-person payments at a centralized location. Not that most people seemed to mind, or even notice.

The vast majority of utility and other customers already are comfortable with various types of electronic payments as well as those that can be made through the mail or in person at locations including supermarkets and convenience stores.

Electric utility APS closed its own customer service offices from 2016 to 2018. Water and power utility Salt River Project did so even earlier, in 2013.

“In recent years, we have noticed a change in how our customers prefer to do business with us, increasingly shifting from face-to-face interactions to self-service on our website or mobile app,” said Southwest Gas spokeswoman Amy Washburn in an email to The Arizona Republic. As the number of customers visiting in person declined, the company closed its office at 2200 N. Central Ave. in Phoenix on Aug. 31, 2023.

Reach the reporter at russ.wiles@arizonarepublic.com.