AZ — A family is on a mission for change following the loss of their mother to extreme heat last year after APS shut off her power due to missed payments Temperatures soared to 102º in the days after 82-year-old Kate Korman's air conditioning was shut off by the utility company on May 13 The Sun City West woman was found dead six days later Kate's death was a private family tragedy for a year Arizona Corporation Commission Vice-Chair Nick Myers posted on X that he was "sure the family doesn't want made public what we found" when it came to an investigation into Korman's death That post caught the attention of Kate's son kicking off a series of posts from Myers that ended with the key figure tasked with regulating APS blaming Kate's children for her death I'm more blaming you for not looking out for your elderly mom," Myers wrote "I refuse to tell utilities that they have to provide power to people that do not pay their bills I'm not even happy about many of the programs that they have in place to help "I don't feel it is a utilities [sic] responsibility to keep everyone alive," that Korman's death is "not a problem that the rest of society should shoulder," and that Kate's sons had "failed to protect their mother." The posts have left both Adam and his brother Jonathan shaken up tell ABC15 their mother never told them she hadn't paid her APS bill or that her air conditioning had been shut off "We did not understand that this happened because her power had been cut off until we arrived at her house and discovered how hot it was," Jonathan explained Jonathan says Myers's posts have restarted the grieving process "It's like the first day we knew all over again," he said The brothers had initially chosen to shield others from the details of Kate's death "We told our friends and family a comforting lie about how our mother died in her sleep and that wasn't really true," Jonathan said Myers claimed the A/C shutoff "was not the cause of death" for Kate the official medical examiner's report says "environmental heat stress" contributed Her official cause of death is complications of chronic ethanolism "If her power had not been cut during 100º weather she would not have died when and how she did," Adam wrote in a text "I think in my exchange on X with Nick Myers his words speak volumes about his character and interests Instead of using his position of power to help prevent future heat-related deaths he's more invested in attacking a grieving family." My comments on social media were intended to address my views on the current termination of service rules I apologize for any harm my comments may have caused the family The views and opinions I expressed on my personal social media account were my own and not those of the Arizona Corporation Commission.” Jonathan doubts the sincerity of the message "It sounds like he's embarrassed and he's got some kind of publicist telling him what to say," he said he wrote on X: "Living rent free in people's heads because you told the truth and they don't like it is proof that the old saying 'truth hurts' is still very valid." That post remains up as of the posting of this article along with the rest of his posts targeting the Kormans Jonathan is calling for utility companies to change their approach by basing shutoffs on temperature on not seasonal dates and to make direct contact with customers before cutting power "And I hope they stay concerned until we can create a change that protects people who are vulnerable." APS says it contacted Kate ten times with past due and disconnect notifications including through door hangs and by sending mail after she stopped paying her bills in January 2024 The contacts included "details of assistance options and encouraged the customer to contact us." However the company says it did not speak with her APS adds that Kate did not contact the company at all at any time after January 2024 Jonathan said his mother likely did not understand that her power would be shut off as she had the money to pay for her air conditioning during that period We care about the safety and wellbeing of our customers and we encourage those who need help to reach out so we can connect them to assistance and resources We take extensive steps both to communicate with customers who don’t pay their bills and provide them with support our customer notification practices exceed the requirements established by the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) We make numerous attempts to let the customer know the status of their account and offer assistance through a variety of channels Our records show this was true with this customer.    We regularly work with customers to find solutions to pay down their bill including giving them more time to pay with flexible payment arrangements as well as other programs listed below.   Customer Support For those customers who need assistance with their bill APS has programs to help them monitor their account and provide financial help.  For those who have vulnerable loved ones APS offers two programs that allow customers to authorize that individual to monitor their accounts by providing notifications if bills are unpaid We also have programs that provide financial support and other assistance for customers struggling to pay their bills:  and do not pay their current monthly charges and payment arrangement amount by the due date may have their electric service disconnected; but only after we make many attempts to connect with the customer to see how we can help – as described earlier.  We worked with consumer advocates and the commission to determine the best way to implement the moratorium is clearer and more predictable for customers across our diverse service territory Temperatures can change day-to-day in certain seasons We want to emphasize that APS is here to help our customers and provide support. Our advisors are available 24/7 in English and in Spanish at (602) 371-7171 (metro Phoenix) or (800) 253-9405 (other areas)." Report a typo Share on FacebookShare on X (formerly Twitter)Share on PinterestShare on LinkedInPHOENIX (AZFamily) — A man has died after being pulled from a burning garage in Sun City West on Tuesday night Just after 9 p.m., firefighters and deputies responded to reports of a house fire in the area of Rico Drive and Black Gold Lane they found a garage fully engulfed in flames Crews were also notified that someone was still in the garage and firefighters soon went in and found a man suffering from severe burns Detectives with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the man’s death See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description