Opposition is building against a proposal to raise electricity rates for customers of a small utility in two Arizona counties. 

A public hearing for UNS Electric will be held in Nogales on Tuesday at 6 p.m. for customers to weigh in on the possible changes. 

 “Anti-consumer,” “reprehensible” and “corporate greed" are just some of the phrases found while leafing through the hundreds of public comments against the UNS proposed rate hike.

Since the beginning of March, the Arizona Corporation Commission has been hearing from utilities, consumer advocates, solar companies and other stakeholders in an effort to determine what customers should pay. UNS is owned by Tucson Electric Power and has about 93,000 customers in Santa Cruz and Mohave Counties. At issue, in particular, is the so-called “demand charge” that would be tied to the peak hour when a customer uses the most energy. 

If approved, it would be the first time such a charge is required for residential customers in the state and could set a precedent for the upcoming rate cases this year, including for Arizona Public Service and TEP. 

The commission will hold two other public hearings at the end of the month in Kingman and Lake Havasu City.