R.I. utility shutoffs at all-time high

[YankeyMCC]

(snip)
PROVIDENCE, R.I. --Utility companies have tuned off service for a record number of Rhode Islanders, the most since the state starting keeping track in 1997.

More than 25,000 people lost electricity or natural gas service by last month because they could not pay, according to the state Division of Public Utilities and Carriers. That represents a 12 percent increase over last year.
(snip)

(snip)
"People are having a harder and harder time paying home energy bills, and it's not just the poorest of the poor," said John Howatt, a senior policy analyst for the National Consumer Law Center in Boston. "Utility affordability problems are creeping slowly but surely into the middle class."

Assuming state regulators approve recent price decrease proposals, an average electric customer will next year pay $872, or about 34 percent more than he paid in 2002. Natural gas customers would pay $1,654 next year, or $424 more than the same period five years ago.
(snip)

http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2006/11/19/ri_utility_shutoffs_at_all_time_high/?rss_id=Boston.com+%2F+News

[loveable liberal]

1. Federal funds for energy assistance have been slashed...

Bush will do anything to harm the public.

[FreeStateDemocrat]

18. Democrats too busy with intra-party warfare and re-instating the draft to give a shit.

[Tempest]

20. The Democrats are not in power

Now kindly contact your REPUG representative and tell them to help out.

[grizmaster]

22. this is a state issue not a federal issue

and the dems are in power here.

Yet we still have to have this fight with the utilities and the PUC (public utilities commission) about them shutting off as many people as they can before the moratorium on shut-offs starts.

[loveable liberal]

25. Our state was funded by the Fed's too...

The funding was cut along with everything else.

[madmusic]

2. Relax, they can pay for it with BushCo's tax cuts.

[babylonsister]

3. This is sad and scary. Pray for a warm winter. nt

[Kindigger]

4. Who do I write to?

I just recently moved from rural low income housing which is funded by USDA. I moved into an elderly and disabled Section 8 complex in the city which is funded by HUD...different funding sources, but same rules/regulations (at least for residents).

I moved assuming I was "breaking even" on monthly bills with other non monetary advantages to me. Anyway, I was in a housing complex with one bedroom units, and a capacity limit of two. Right before I moved, my food stamps took a drastic jump. I was thankful that I'd be able to get a little ahead. I always took in my utility bills to figure them, but was told I may as well take the $135 standard deduction, because it was more.

I think the highest winter bill in the complex was around $88, with a yearly average of $40. Of course we also got + - $250 low income energy assistance so I was doing okay. I know several of my elderly neighbors had enough SSI left each month to stay perpetually drunk.

So I move and get a notice from the FS office that I am going to receive $10 a month. This is not something I had figured into my "breaking even". I called the office to find out if there was some mistake, and was told there was a hidden figure that I couldn't see on the notice I received.

She told me low income people in rural areas were receiving an additional deduction of $356 per month! She explained that a lot of poor people live in large drafty farm houses with humongous heating bills. I asked her why USDA projects were benefiting from this, but she had no explanation. It was done when they were adding a bunch of emergency LIHEAP assistance to some spending bill. I know I was only getting around $32 before then.

This is just plain wrong! There are hundreds of these complexes where people are living relatively high on the hog at the expense of people who really need help. They are just too lazy to go to the trouble of breaking down their formula any further. :mad:

I spoke of ramen noodles the other night...I was not kidding.

[happyslug]

6. Sounds about right

You must understand Rural Housing comes through the Department of Agriculture (as do Food Stamps) while Liheap, SSI, Welfare, Social Security comes through the Department of Health and Human Services (Through SSI and Social Security where just a few years ago made an independent Agency but for this topic I am treating SSA as still part of HHS). Furthermore Food Stamps and Rural Housing are controlled by the Agricultural committees of the House and Senate, Not the Welfare and Social Security Committees.

Yes, Food Stamps and Rural Housing do NOT come from the same congressional authorization, Budgeting or even Federal Executive Department. As to food Stamps their only join up with the Federal Welfare Cash grants at the State level. Rural Housing NEVER comes under the Department of Housing and Urban Development, it remains under the Department of Agriculture. Thus while the regulations are similar, they are different do to the fact that on the Federal Level, not only do different agencies handle the two programs, but authorized by two different Committees of the House and Senate.

[Kindigger]

9. So which one

is the slacker in this case? I'm not totally dull, but that was a very thoughtful, complicated explanation. LOL

[happyslug]

19. Probably the budget Committee (Or the House ways and Means Committee)

Since the GOP took over Congress the GOP heads of the Welfare Committees and the GOP head of the Agricultural Committees (as while as the GOP head of the Housing Committees) of both the House and Senate have generally opposed "Welfare Reform". The GOP leadership to get around these committees did a lot of changes in Government aid through the Budget instead of the underlying stature. The best (or Worse depending on your point of view) example of this is the grounds for eviction from Public Housing. Prior to the mid-1990s the rule was a tenant could be evicted if a guest or other family member committee a crime "on or by" housing authority property. Thus if someone sold drugs on a Park away from the Housing Authority that was NOT grounds to evict his or her family.

The GOP wanted to change this language "On or Off", i.e. if a family member or "guest" committed a crime ANYWHERE you can be evicted from the Housing Authority apartment. The Housing Committee refused even to permit this to get on the agenda in his committee, so the leadership had the budget Committee re-write the law. Now the Budget Committee can not make permanent changes to the law, only year to year changes (i.e. the length of the Current Budget). Thus the underlying statute says "On or By", each year since the mid-1990s the budget has changed that on a year to year basis to be "on or Off".

Another example of this is Food Stamps. The agriculture Committee has control of the permanent language. The permanent language forbids repayments of any overpayment's of food stamps if the problem was caused by the State (i.e. the state, do to its error, gave out to much food stamps to someone) AND repayment would cause an acute hardship. The GOP, as part of the Budget, changed the law on a year to year basis, to require overpayment's to be paid back no matter what (Which is also the permanent rule for Welfare, but the Agricultural Committee does NOT control Welfare).

While I suspect the problem is the Agricultural Committee opts for the Higher price for its programs, I also can not rule out the Budget committees, but lets get real, the real problem was the GOP leadership who wanted to destroy ALL social programs. Some members of the GOP fought them (as did the Democrats) but a long as the GOP controlled the House and Senate the above was the law for that is what the GOP leadership wanted. Hopefully with Democratic Leadership this all will change, but we will not see the results till October 2007 when the new budget starts.

[Stargazer99]

5. Hey, over here in Washington State we're not doing any better

By the time I pay the rent (Section 8 is closed not taking applications), the garbage (which was rencently raised), the electric and gas heat there is damn little left for food. Since social security pays only 80% I've had to stop seeing the doctor for the high blood pressure and diabetes (I can't afford the modest charges). The vehicle needs a tailpipe and tabs. It is a stuggle not to become too depressed to the point that I cannot function. It is really sad when all your society can do for you is offer chemicals (Zoloft) instead of helping so one can live decently and not be so stressed. Oh yes, and we both have worked our a** off but were low income.

[FlaGranny]

8. Stargazer,

do you have any HMO's in Washington? We live in Florida and have an HMO. Of course we don't get to go to any doctor we want, but we pay nothing extra monthly for the HMO. We also pay nothing for the primary care provider, $5 for a specialist visit, nothing for generic medications, and almost all services cost us nothing. It is not ideal as far as medical care goes - we have to get referrals and can't go to any doctor we want. We have to go to a doctor in our "group of specialists", but we're relatively happy withour primary care doctor. You can't beat the price. This is the time of year you can sign up (December). Since we turned 65, we finally have insurance after years or being uninsured.

[Kindigger]

10. I feel your pain

:hug:

Ya know, if someone with $ reads these posts they would say, "Well! If they are that bad off they would give up their internet." To which I may reply, "Yeah, and then I may as well go put myself out of my misery."

[Katzenjammer]

21. Think about whether you could get by on a bike instead.

That would save you...what? $1000/year, something on that order? Plus it would help with your diabetes, if you're type 2.

I'm 66 and doing nearly all my errands already by bike. I have a rack and panniers on the back for groceries, plus a little speed/odo computer (Campmor had a 5-function Planet Bike device on sale, maybe still do, for $12, which is what I bought) that lets me know how I'm doing, and a Campmor rain cape that has a snug hood, drapes over the handlebars, and allows ventilation underneath so that I don't overheat. Now I need to assemble a lighting system and I'll be good for night travel, too.

I could lug a week's groceries in one trip if I wanted to (I bike the 6km round trip twice or three times a week instead), I can carry laundry over to the laundromat and back in a big drawstring sack that I bungee on, and I found to my surprize that I can get across town to a doc appointment (12km round) during rush hour in the same time it took me by car during off hours. And that's without doing anything dumb like running red lights, either. And my type 2 symptoms (mostly neuropathy) have gone away as my excess weight slowly decreases.

If I can make it through the winter by bike, I'm going to sell my car. Instant $1500/yr rise in disposable income.

[crim son]

7. I'm sitting in a cold house right now.

I can't imagine having my electric service cut off, or having no heat at all. At least I have the option to turn it on. There is something wrong in this country when people cannot afford to heat their homes.

[Pastiche423]

11. Hey, Hugo!

Can you help us out again?

[sarcasmo]

12. Our great Republican economy on the March.

[Jennicut]

13. Husband works for Yankee Gas in Connecticut

And has to shut off people who are really behind in their payments. He is greatful he has a job, he used to be a meter reader but they phased that job out as they now have vans to drive that automatically pick up the meter's reading electronically. Still, he says its real hard to shut off people, especially when they have kids. We have 1 and 2 year old daughters and his heart breaks when he sees single mothers with kids who are crying and begging him not to shut them off. Alot of times he just gives them mores time or tries to get them connected to the customer service to get some hardship assistance. He comes home really depressed sometimes. When the weather gets really cold in the winter by law here in CT he can't shut off anyone.

[YankeyMCC]

14. That has got to be depressing

I used to have a job where I was the one to shut of the accounts of people who were about to be laid-off. That was one reason I left that company.

[SemperEadem]

16. it makes me wonder

if the power company does an all out push before the hard winter sets in to shut off as many people as they can for non payment before they can't by law?

[loveable liberal]

26. In Minnesota they can shut off year round.

The catch is that the utilities have to speak to someone directly at the home and that person has to refuse an energy assistance extension, which is a timeframe that allows them to apply for aid. Our last rate case saw a continuing shift from commercial and industrial accounts to residential. It makes me puke.

[grizmaster]

15. They pull this every year about this time

there's a moratorium period during the winter and they always try to slam through a bunch of service cutoffs before it starts.

Sad to say, this was the main issue we worked on when I worked for the Coalition for Consumer Justice here in RI back in the early 80's. Somethings never change.

Well I shouldn't say nothing changes. It was us and a few other groups that got them to put in place the moratorium.

[progressoid]

17. No no no. I heard on Hannity that the economy is booming.

[Fierce]

23. In MN, companies are not allowed to turn off the heat for nonpayment.

Is that just a state law?

[Delphinus]

24. "Not just the poorest of the poor" ...

This is surprising to me as I thought Rhode Island was pretty well in "good shape" (not high unemployment, etc.).