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Millions Could Lose Their Power

By Peter Behr Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, April 5, 2001; 1:03 PM

The past winter's surge in fuel prices has left 3.6 million low-income people in 19 states and the District with $870 million in unpaid heating bills and facing a potential cut-off of utility service, according to a survey of state heating assistant programs released today.

Washington Gas Light Co. this week sent notices to 5,229 District customers, warning them that their service would be cut off unless they paid their bills or made payment arrangements with the utility, the study by the National Energy Assistance Directors' Association reported. A Washington Gas spokesman confirmed the number.

"Because natural gas prices doubled this winter, the amount of past-due bills is much higher, and so is the number of people who can't pay these debts off," said Mark Wolfe, executive director of the association.

The District and a number of states do not permit utilities to cut off service during the winter. But such moratoriums typically end on March 31 and utilities have begun pressing for payment, he said.

Many low-income families let heating bills pile up during the winter, expecting to pay them off when cold weather ends, Wolfe said, and utilities typically can arrange extended payment plans. But the size of the unpaid bills at the end of the past winter makes that financial burden much greater. "Somehow, these bills will probably get paid, but it will come from somewhere" through reduced spending for other family needs, he said.

The survey was conducted during the last two weeks of March with state and city agencies that administer the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which help eligible families pay heating and air conditioning bills.

The program's nationwide caseload jumped by 30 percent in the past winter, from 3.8 million families a year ago to 4.9 million as of last month.

Funding for the program was increased from $1.1 billion last year to $2.2 billion this year, and while states typically hold back some funding to help families with past due bills, to avoid a loss of service, the money won't stretch far enough, Wolfe said. "The structure of the program was based on lower energy prices."

Nationwide, consumers' energy bills this year are expected to be about $150 billion higher than a year ago, said David Wyss, chief economist for Standard & Poor's, primarily because of the early arrival of very cold winter weather throughout much of the nation in November. A sudden jump in fuel demand was followed up by a big runup in oil and natural gas prices at the end of the year.

http://washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A43861-2001Apr5?language=printer

© 2001 The Washington Post Company

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), April 05, 2001

Answers

This, together with today's news of the bankruptcy of PGE, seems almost like a "sign."

Robert Waldrop, Energy conservation news and resources

-- robert waldrop (rmwj@soonernet.com), April 06, 2001.