Utility service was cut off to 1 in 20 households in the US in 2007, and 1 in 5 were behind in their utility bills, according to a survey released Wednesday. These figures portend a dire situation for the current heating season as families struggle to cover expenses under the impact of the deepening recession.
The survey was conducted by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), a non-profit organization of state utility regulators. Results were compiled from statistics submitted by utility commissions in 41 states and Washington, D.C. It is the largest sample size ever analyzed by the organization, and covers roughly half of all US households.
The termination of gas or electric service to a household spells extreme hardship, with families and individuals forced to go without heat, hot water, lighting, or cooking facilities. Unsafe methods of coping with the lack of power—including the use of space heaters, candles, and the rigging of unauthorized connections—pose a risk to health in the form of poor nutrition and sickness and the danger of fire and asphyxiation. House fires resulting in death are the most tragic outcome and a frequent occurrence in the US.
More than 5.7 million US households had their electricity terminated in 2007, accounting for 4.7 percent of all electric customers. Of these, 1.9 million—or 33 percent—did not have service restored in the reporting year.
Gas service was cut off to 3 million customers in 2007, a termination rate of 5 percent. This rate was double the 2.5 percent cut off in 2001. More than half of these customers—or 55 percent—were unable to have their service restored during the year.
Yet another problem that will grow with the deepening economic crisis.
There was a time when utilities were locally owned and run for the benefit of the community, not for the benefit of the shareholders, who might be quite distant.
There must some balance between economies of scale and the benefits of local, public ownership.
I wonder what it would take to return to that?
I suspect part of the answer relates to placing taxes on the local commons which the non-locally-owned utilities are using. They have rights of way, likely at rather low annual rents to the local commons. Perhaps we might take back some of their windfalls, and at the same time fund local needs, by collecting that rent.
To do so would not raise local utility prices. And at some point, they might decide that it made economic sense to sell the local utility back to the community.
I hope someone might explore this. It seems like a move in the direction of sanity and affordable living. It would also pu
Hi LVTfan….thanx for stopping by and I agree…it seems that local utilities could benefit from any new cash made available by the Obama Admin….but that assumes that they are honest in their desire to make a difference.
oops! I started to write that it would also put the decision-making on polluting generation plans back in the local area.