Electric and natural-gas utilities in Colorado and nationwide say they are shutting off more customers this year because of delinquent bills.
Amid surging energy and gasoline prices, the disconnections are extending beyond low-income households.
Intermountain Rural Electric Association, which serves 137,000 customers in Colorado, said its disconnections are up 25 percent over a year ago.
“We’re now getting some of the larger homes, the real big ones where you’ve got 4,000 to 5,000 square feet,” general manager Stan Lewandowski said.
A survey by the National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association in June found that 8 percent of households earning between $33,000 and $55,500 annually have had their electricity turned off. Among utilities nationwide, People’s Gas in Chicago said its customer shut-offs are up 30 percent this year, and Duke Energy in North Carolina said its shut-offs are up 14 percent.
Lewandowski attributed the increase in disconnections to the sluggish economy and rising electricity bills. NEADA executive director Mark Wolfe pointed to high gasoline prices.
“In a lot of cases, you could be spending an extra $100 a month for gasoline,” Wolfe said. “For families that live from paycheck to paycheck, they just don’t have any other resources available.”
Colorado’s situation is difficult to fully assess because Xcel Energy, with 1.6 million customers the state’s largest utility, is no longer required to report disconnection figures to regulators as part of a Public Utilities Commission rule change enacted in 2006.
Xcel declined The Post’s request for the information.
Disconnections at Poudre Valley Rural Electric Association, serving 35,000 customers in Colorado, are up 16 percent. Delta-Montrose Electric Association, with about 30,000 customers, said its shut-offs have increased 8 percent.
Utilities typically don’t disconnect customers until they’re at least two months behind on their bills, which are forecast to hit record levels this winter.
Natural-gas and electric bills from November through April will be 25 percent to 27 percent higher than the same period in 2007-08, according to Energy Outreach Colorado. On average, residents can expect to pay $1,250 for their gas and electric bills during that six-month period.
“The outlook for next winter is fairly bleak for low-income households,” said Skip Arnold of Energy Outreach Colorado.
Xcel disconnected Sharel Doyle’s power in mid-March after the Denver resident fell behind $1,300 on her utility bill, a debt that was racked up over several years at different homes. Her power was restored about a week later after she received financial assistance from the Salvation Army and the state Low Income Energy Assistance Program.
Xcel threatened to disconnect Doyle again in June, but she received further assistance from Family to Family Denver and Energy Outreach Colorado.
“I’m basically working to pay (Xcel) and child support,” said Doyle, 38, who has two children and earns $9.82 an hour at Denver Public Schools.
The Colorado PUC lifted the requirement to report customer shut-offs in 2006 as part of a revision of all of its rules, said spokesman Terry Bote.
The information, previously reported quarterly by Xcel, wasn’t being used by regulators, Bote said.
“If we want to ask the utility to provide it through audit, we certainly can do that,” he said.
Xcel will have to disclose the information if it seeks to recover losses from unpaid bills, which are typically passed on to paying customers.
Former Commissioner Carl Miller said lifting the reporting requirement was part of an effort to “reduce unnecessary regulation.”
Xcel officials couldn’t recall whether or why they pushed for the rule change, spokesman Tom Henley said. The officials who have knowledge of the situation were either on vacation or out of the country, he said.
Andy Vuong: 303-954-1209 or avuong@denverpost.com
By the numbers
8%
Households earning between $33,000 and $55,500 annually that have had their electricity turned off, according to the National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association
25%
Increase in electricity disconnections by Intermountain Rural Electric Association
$1,250
What Colorado residents, on average, will pay for gas and electricity from November to April, Energy Outreach Colorado says.
