A spokesman for the R.I. Division of Public Utilities said last week the number of utility shutoffs “could be in the record territory” after the April 15 end of the moratorium for disconnecting protected customers passes.
Thomas Kogut, chief of information and public relations for the division, said the state saw an increase in utility shutoffs last year, a number that was exacerbated by the high energy costs that came on the heels of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
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“Clearly you have a situation where, going into this winter, there had been a significant increase in the cost of utilities,” Kogut said. “Certainly that has affected households that have regulated utilities such as gas and electric.”
In recent years, the state witnessed sharp increases in the number of shutoffs. Last year, a nine-year high, saw 22,371 Rhode Island customers lose service – a jump from 2004’s 21,494 shutoffs.
In 2003, the 21,446 shutoffs represented a jump of more than 9,000 from 2002, when 12,335 were disconnected.
From November through April 15, utility companies cannot shut off service to protected customers, which can include the elderly, handicapped and unemployed who can provide verification of their status. However, the companies can shut off service to non-protected, standard customers, Kogut said.
In January, utility companies shut off 327 customers, 184 of whom have had service restored, Kogut said. The statistics for February were unavailable.
Of that figure, 324 were shut off by the New England Gas Co. Chris Medici, a spokesman for the company, said that termination is considered “a last resort,” but is done to protect the interests of all of New England Gas’ customers.
“It is something that at times we must pursue when all other efforts to work with our customers to pay their outstanding balance have failed,” he said.
National Grid, which supplies electricity to much of the state, does not generally shut off any residential customer during the moratorium, said spokesman David Graves. While it is not a stated policy of the company, Graves said shutoffs are not advantageous from a business perspective.
“The resources that it requires to shut customers off exceed any business benefits to the company,” Graves said. “It’s a right that we reserve for non-protected customers. It’s just something that we choose not to do during winter months.”
But despite the potential for record shutoffs after April 15, the R.I. State Energy Office has not experienced a flood of people looking for assistance, said Janice McClanaghan, chief of energy and community services for the office.
Last year, the office had about 26,000 people receive assistance through the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). This year, 25,564 people are currently in the system, McClanaghan said, and about 720 have appointments scheduled to try to sign up.
Henry Shelton, director of the Pawtucket-based George Wiley Center, which advocates for the poor, is looking for assistance beyond what is already offered to the state’s low-income residents.
For years, the center has been lobbying the General Assembly to pass “Affordable Energy Bargain” legislation.
Under earlier versions of the bill, eligible residents would be required to pay a percentage of their income to their gas and electricity companies. Participants also would have had a forgiveness plan for back bills. The legislation would have charged all utility customers a 1-percent surcharge to help generate funds for LIHEAP.
The idea, Shelton said, is to create a program that treats people with “respect and dignity” and gives people access to utilities within their means. “If a guy makes $100 per week, and you’re going to charge him much more than he brings in, how much can he pay?”
A similar program existed in the 1980s, and it was a success, Shelton said.
While there has been a steady amount of shutoffs in the state so far this winter, Shelton said, the situation could have been worse. New England has experienced a mild winter and had warmest January in 56 years.
Kogut said costs for energy will likely come back down because of the warmer weather.
“The fuel costs that drove prices a bit have been moderated by the fact that we have had a generally mild winter,” Kogut said. “If we continue to be fortunate in that regard, we could be looking at a situation where there is a future possibility of prices moderating. That may also offer longer-term assistance to people … to get out of any arrearage they had built up over the season.”
