This is the first time since COVID-19 hit in May that struggling customers in Connecticut have faced business closures due to unpaid bills. This could matter to many of the state's poor residents, given that the state ranked third in the nation for the percentage of residents who couldn't pay their utility bills in full last year.
Nearly 30% of Connecticut residents reported being unable to pay at least one utility bill between April 2023 and March 2024, according to a U.S. Census Bureau survey. Only Louisiana and Mississippi reported higher rates.
This ranking is in stark contrast to the state's relatively high median household income (11th in the nation, or $88,429, as of 2022). But Connecticut residents also pay some of the highest energy rates in the country, ranking fourth among residential customers, behind Hawaii and California. , Rhode Island in February.
For the first time since the pandemic, the moratorium has prevented power companies from shutting off customers. This protection was gradually reduced and eventually limited to indigent customers, ending last October with the start of a seasonal suspension of winter business closures for indigent and health customers.
Qualifying hardship customers in Connecticut include people who can't pay their bills and don't receive government assistance or Medicaid. If your only income comes from Social Security, Veterans Affairs, or unemployment compensation. A head of household who is unemployed if her income in the past 12 months is less than three times the poverty line. If you are seriously ill or have a family member who is seriously ill. Income is less than 60% of the state average income. They are at risk of being deprived of food if they are late in paying their bills.
Starting May 2, the state's utilities will once again be able to cut off service to customers who don't pay their bills.
“While service outages are the last thing we want, unpaid utility bills increase costs for all of our customers,” Eversource spokeswoman Sarah Paduano said in an email. “In 2023, we incurred more than $100 million in unreimbursed expenses from economically disadvantaged and medically protected customers.”
Eversource is Connecticut's largest utility company.
The Hardship Assistance Program is funded by payments to customers as part of their utility bills, similar to incentives for renewable energy and the Millstone Nuclear Power Plant Power Purchase Agreement.
The company estimates that when the latest approved rate increases go into effect on July 1, these public benefits will account for 27% of Eversource's average bill and 14% of United Illumination's bill. It turns out.
Despite the suspension, Eversource and UI together averaged more than 1,800 initial suspension notices per day from April 2023 to March 2024.
Approximately 23 percent of Eversource's 1.16 million residential customers in Connecticut received at least one initial closure notice in the past 12 months. Less than 3% of his companies actually went out of business.
UI sent initial termination notices to 25 percent of its 312,796 residential customers in the past 12 months. This service was cut off for his 8% of residential customers.
The obvious difference between the two companies is that UI cuts off customers at nearly three times the rate of Eversource, due to the high concentration of poor people in its service area, particularly Bridgeport and New Haven. This reflects what UI claims.
Most retail customers (80 percent for Eversource and 72 percent for UI) do not take action after receiving the initial notification by making a payment, enrolling in a payment arrangement, or providing evidence of hardship. I have resolved the situation.
Unlike Eversource, which has not yet deployed smart meters to its customers, approximately 90% of UI customers have smart meters installed, allowing service to be disconnected and restored quickly and remotely at low cost ( It costs about $20 for most UI customers, which is significantly cheaper than about $20 for UI customers). Fees charged for technician to reconnect directly to service.
Both companies claim that the end of the moratorium will increase customers' willingness to pay.
Bridgeport and surrounding areas covered by the UI accounted for 22% of road closures from January to December 2023, and Greater New Haven accounted for an additional 23% during the same period, according to data from both companies.
Eversource serves Hartford and Waterbury, two cities with high concentrations of poverty, but the company's service area is much broader, encompassing 149 towns, many of which are affluent. . Hartford and Waterbury also had significantly fewer closures than Bridgeport and New Haven.
Both companies closed a similar number of customers over the previous 12 months during the suspension period. Eversource had approximately 35,000 customers disconnected, and UI had approximately 39,000 customers disconnected.
“There was a moratorium period that no one knew about,” said Tenaya Taylor, executive director of the Hartford-based nonprofit Accountability Group. “All low-income residents should be protected from closure without registering. Even someone not paying their bills on time should be a red flag for utilities.”
Utility regulators, social services departments, and utility companies are looking at ways to automatically identify customers in distress without contacting the company, according to the UI.
The UI had 52,890 users classified as indigent or medically protected in March, about 17% of its residential customers. Eversource has 92,829 users coded this way, which is about 8% of its residential customers.
Although these customers will no longer be subject to the shutoff moratorium, they will still have access to other assistance programs such as low-income discount rates, matching payment plans, Eversource's New Start, UI Claims Waiver Program, and the Connecticut Assistance Program. Masu. .
“We strongly encourage customers who are struggling to pay their energy bills to contact us to learn more about these programs. There will be no disconnection,” said Sarah Wall Furiotzos. A UI spokesperson issued a written statement.
