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More people need payment help to stay connected to power
June 16, 2010—Randall McKibbins is among a growing number of people in the Rock River Valley who are struggling to pay their utility bills as summer heats up and the economy crawls to recovery.
by Matt Williams, Rockford Register Star
‘So overwhelming’ “The bills have gotten so overwhelming living on a fixed income,” said McKibbins, who uses a wheelchair to get around and receives $634 a month from Social Security. “That is not a whole lot to live on.” McKibbins’ electric service was restored Friday, thanks to an emergency assistance grant from the city, but many more people still need help paying their utility bills. Private and public utility providers are reporting significant spikes in service disconnections because customers fail to pay water, sewer, gas and electric bills. Those using assistance programs and payment plans are on the rise as well. The city’s Water Department shut off municipal water service to 5,621 customers in 2009 for nonpayment. That’s a 20 percent increase from 4,476 disconnections in 2008. There have been 3,171 turnoffs through the first five months this year. Rock River Water Reclamation District separately had the city disconnect water service to 720 customers in 2009 compared with 564 the previous year for nonpayment of sewer bills. The district serves Rockford, Loves Park, Machesney Park, Roscoe, Cherry Valley and New Milford. “In most cases, we would love to have every utility customer connected to every utility, but it can’t be at the hands of everyone who does pay the bill,” said sanitary district director Steve Graceffa. Payment assistance Nicor Gas and Commonwealth Edison could not provide the Register Star with the number of utility disconnections they initiate because of nonpayment. Both utilities, however, have seen a notable increase in demand for payment assistance programs. Nicor spokesman Richard Caragol said the gas company saw a 171 percent increase from 2008 to 2009 in customers who signed up for a payment plan. ComEd spokesman Paul Callighan said more than $2 million in assistance through the company’s Helping Hands program will be awarded this year, more than double what had been originally budgeted. The program, which was established for those who face a hardship of job loss or medical event, will assist more than 7,000 customers who face possible disconnection of service because of nonpayment. An additional $8 million will be distributed through other ComEd assistance programs, Callighan said. “We know that there is a need for assistance for customers who are facing financial hardships, which is why so many of those programs started up last year and are continuing this year,” he said. Government help Jennifer Jaeger, community services director with the city of Rockford, said there was a 27 percent increase for Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program applications as well as a 25 percent increase in people seeking water utility assistance. The federal program, coordinated by state and local governments, runs from September to April, offering utility subsidies to income-eligible residents. “We are concerned,” Jaeger said. “We want to help people stay stable and keep them in their homes. But we also want to help people to learn how to manage their bills so this doesn’t happen in the future.” McKibbins has used both the ComEd Residential Special Hardship program and LIHEAP in the past to help pay his utility bills. “It is very important in the community for these services to keep running,” McKibbins said. “There are already a lot of homeless people in the community, single mothers. They all need the help.” |