After two years, Mesa has ended its utility program linked to the American Rescue Plan Act.

In 2021, Mesa leaders approved using $20 million in federal funds to help utility customers in qualified census tracts, areas with predominantly low to moderate incomes.

The goal was to keep residential bills from increasing $35% and commercial bills from increasing more than 43%. In a press release, the city said the program was designed, “to mitigate a large increase in the cost of regional electric supplies, which significantly impacted the city electric utility’s power supply cost. The market is now better stabilized.”

Nearly 25,000 residential customers received an average of $416 while close to 3,300 commercial customers received an average of $2,977. Mesa reported the first credits were issued on Nov. 27, 2021, and the last were issued on Oct. 27, 2023.

American Rescue Plan Act funds are meant to support local, state and tribal governments’ response and recovery from the COVID-19 public health emergency.