Upfront costs are almost always less desirable/affordable than higher costs over time. According to the US EIA the average monthly bill in 2017 in Arizona was $128/mo vs a national average of $112.

Do you know how many month's you'd have to live in a house to offset a difference of $16/month? If the cost difference was as little as 10k it would take 52 years to break even. I'd wager 10k is a very conservative estimate. For someone who is able to afford a custom home, the extra cost was probably not a huge consideration, but for the average person, and the average builder it's almost certainly not worth it.