Here in Phoenix, APS (and maybe SRP too, but I have never been their customer) who supplies our power has this extra charge on the bill (I forget what they call

Here in Phoenix, APS (and maybe SRP too, but I have never been their customer) who supplies our power has this extra charge on the bill (I forget what they call it) that doesn't seem to be tied to anything - and randomly fluctuates per billing period. Most all of their other charges you can see or can easily find out how they are calculated; they either list how on the bill itself, or with enough digging on their website, you can find the information. And while such charges may not be entirely "likable" - you can at least see what they are for, and can figure out how to mitigate them in some manner. But this one charge - and I wish I had a copy of my bill in front of me to know what it's name was - it doesn't seem to be tied to anything - yet the amount is a significant fraction of the entire bill; sometimes up to a third of the bill in total! I was looking at it one day years ago, and I couldn't figure it out. I went on the website, googled the hell outta it, and nothing could be found on what it even was, let alone how it was calculated. It's name was very obscure, yet it took up so much of the bill that I wanted to know what it was and how I could lower it. I showed my wife, and she was just as confused. The following day she called up APS and talked to somebody there, and despite staying on the phone for a few hours, they couldn't tell her anything as to what it was or how it was calculated. I don't know if that was a ruse on their part, or what, but to this day we have this extra charge/fee on our bill, and we have to pay it, but nobody can tell us anything about it, what it is, how it works, etc. I would personally love to go "off grid" and tell them to stick it, but here in Phoenix (and possibly other states and municipalities as well) they've (utility companies and lobbyists) made it their goal (if it hasn't been enacted in full yet - I haven't kept up on it) to make it a "law" that says if you have a home that has pre-existing hookup to the house, you have to pay for that hookup whether you use it or not. I'm still trying to figure out how that is considered to be legal or fair, and why - if it is, and becomes mandated - why the republicans in our legislature, who accept this, are against the healthcare coverage mandate of the ACA...