News Release: Cause of Widespread Outage Under InvestigationAPS Works to Restore Service to Customers in Yuma Area, 09/08/2011

Cause of Widespread Outage Under Investigation
APS Works to Restore Service to Customers in Yuma Area

September 8, 2011

PHOENIX – At approximately 3:30 pm today, the North Gila – Hassayampa 500 kV transmission line near Yuma, Ariz., tripped off line resulting in a major power outage across southwest Arizona and into Southern California. Among APS customers, approximately 56,000 lost service throughout Yuma, Somerton, San Luis and Gadsden. APS is in the process of restoring service to customers in these communities.

The outage appears to be related to a procedure an APS employee was carrying out in the North Gila substation, which is located northeast of Yuma. Operating and protection protocols typically would have isolated the resulting outage to the Yuma area. The reason that did not occur in this case will be the focal point of the investigation into the event, which already is under way.

“We are working hard to restore our customers as quickly and safely as possible,” said APS President and Chief Operating Officer Don Robinson. “We take great pride in our hard-earned reputation for safe and reliable service, and we will work hard to identify the cause.”

APS is Arizona’s largest and longest serving electric utility and serves more than 1.1 million customers in 11 of the state’s 15 counties. With headquarters in Phoenix, APS is the principal subsidiary of Pinnacle West Capital Corp. (NYSE: PNW)

Contact:

Damon Gross
(602) 250-2269

Jim McDonald
(602) 321-3738 (cell)

24-hour Hotline
(602) 250-2277

Analyst Contacts:

Rebecca Hickman
(602) 250-5668

Geoff Wendt
(602) 250-5643

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