TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — The Tucson City Council held its first meeting of 2026 to a packed house, with community members voicing strong opposition to Tucson Electric Power's (TEP) proposed rate increases.
Despite not being on the official agenda, many residents came to speak against TEP, expressing concerns about rising utility costs and the financial burden on customers.
Lee Ziesche with the Tucson Chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America was among those calling for action against the utility company.
"TEP showed us very clearly in 2025 what will happen if we stick with them. It's going to be higher bills and supporting data centers and that's not what the people of Tucson want," Ziesche said.
Her organization is pushing the mayor and council to establish a public power utility this year, similar to Tucson Water, as an alternative to TEP.
"We want the city to put a bond before us to approve to actually buy out TEP and then we would own all the poles and wires that serve our community," Ziesche said.
According to TEP, the proposed rates would increase residential customer bills by about 14% and could take effect in September 2026. The company says its current rates reflect costs from 2021 and have dropped in both 2024 and 2025 to pass along energy cost savings.
On TEP's website, it states, "In late 2026, we will need to start recovering $1.7 billion of recent investments in our local energy grid and passing along the higher costs we’ve been paying to reliably serve our community’s expanding energy needs."
RELATED COVERAGE: Take a hike: TEP requests 14% rate hike; critics say customers can’t afford more increases
Council members also addressed fire department services.
Rural Metro Fire Dept. will take over South Tucson fire service on February 1st, but Tucson firefighters will continue providing support.
The City of Tucson agreed to extend Tucson Fire assistance to South Tucson Fire on a month-to-month basis. The previous Intergovernmental Agreement ended on December 31st. Either party may terminate this agreement at its convenience, for any reason, with 30 days’ advance written notice to the other party.
The City of South Tucson will pay the City of Tucson $25,000 per month for the assistance.
Tucson Fire Assistant Chief Lewis Harris explained the cost structure depends on the type of service provided. For a truck and four people, it costs about $400 per hour to operate.
"So a normal house fire if we're there for an hour, it may only be at, you know, $2,500. If it's a large building fire, which we've had several there, we may have 14 or 15 units there for several hours, in which case, that's getting into the $20,000 range for that kind of event," Harris said.
He says once Rural Metro takes over, nothing will change. Tucson Fire will still assist calls if needed.
"Again, if they have a house fire, you can't fight a house fire with four people. You need a lot more trucks, so we're still coming on," Harris said.
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Vanessa Gongora is KGUN 9's Westside reporter.. Vanessa fell in love with storytelling by growing up in sports. She was fascinated by how sports reporters go beyond the x's & o's to tell players' stories, and how sports bring people together, inspiring Vanessa to provide the same impact as a journalist. Share your story ideas and important issues with Vanessa by emailing vanessa.gongora@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
