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MN Utility customers are behind on their bills by about $100 M, about 2X as much as before the COVID pandemic
As costs rise, number of Minnesotans losing heat, electricity spikes, MPR, 12/24/24
. . . It found utilities disconnected more than 85,000 residential households from either gas or electric services this year. That’s more than any full year going back to at least 2015. And the numbers are only for January through October, so they could be higher by the year’s end. ((see 4 paragraphs below about the Minnesota Cold Weather Rule, which presumably would sizably reduce the disconnection rate from October thru April -nmmi))
. . . Utility customers are behind on their bills by about $100 million in total, about twice as much as before the COVID-19 pandemic, said Annie Levenson-Falk, executive director of the Citizens Utility Board.
. . . During the pandemic, utilities suspended disconnections while people were confined to their homes. But since they’ve resumed, there’s been a steady increase in the number of people disconnected, Levenson-Falk said.
. . . Consumer groups had raised concerns about Xcel's policy requiring customers to pay half their balance to reconnect service.
. . . Minnesota’s Cold Weather Rule prevents disconnections from October through April, if it would affect the household’s primary heating source. But there’s a misconception that this is an automatic protection. The customer has to contact the utility and set up a payment plan. Otherwise, they can lose their service.
MORE: https://www.mprnews.org/story/2024/12/24/as-costs-rise-number-of-minnesotans-losing-heat-electricity-spikes
(emphasis added). . . It found utilities disconnected more than 85,000 residential households from either gas or electric services this year. That’s more than any full year going back to at least 2015. And the numbers are only for January through October, so they could be higher by the year’s end. ((see 4 paragraphs below about the Minnesota Cold Weather Rule, which presumably would sizably reduce the disconnection rate from October thru April -nmmi))
. . . Utility customers are behind on their bills by about $100 million in total, about twice as much as before the COVID-19 pandemic, said Annie Levenson-Falk, executive director of the Citizens Utility Board.
. . . During the pandemic, utilities suspended disconnections while people were confined to their homes. But since they’ve resumed, there’s been a steady increase in the number of people disconnected, Levenson-Falk said.
. . . Consumer groups had raised concerns about Xcel's policy requiring customers to pay half their balance to reconnect service.
. . . Minnesota’s Cold Weather Rule prevents disconnections from October through April, if it would affect the household’s primary heating source. But there’s a misconception that this is an automatic protection. The customer has to contact the utility and set up a payment plan. Otherwise, they can lose their service.
MORE: https://www.mprnews.org/story/2024/12/24/as-costs-rise-number-of-minnesotans-losing-heat-electricity-spikes
1 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
Toss in a few silly regulations about using portable heating sources and you have a greedfest with no options.
And, we still will not discuss switching over to homes that generate their own power. We have the tech to do it and it is good enough for this (except for those who wish to run their 'heavy power tools'-type businesses from their homes... which is usually against the law in suburban areas anyway.) But, we won't do it. So, we are still all tethered together and vulnerable to losing all power because we refuse to progress thanks to the greed of corporate interests.
Lovely.