An alarming number of Washington, D.C., area residents behind on their gas and electric bills are in danger of having their power shut off. On April 1, when a winter restriction on shut-offs ends, tens of thousands of customers could lose service.
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Late bills and shut-offs have dramatically increased in recent years. Maryland’s Public Service Commission reports that from October 2006 to September 2008, shut-offs increased by 23 percent while arrearages, or late bills, rose by 44 percent. (Washington Post, Feb. 27) The average amount for arrearages increased from $250 to $340 in the same period.
Higher energy prices, a result of deregulated markets, have led to rising electricity and natural gas costs. When rate caps were recently lifted, BGE raised rates by 72 percent. Dominion Virginia Power’s rates increased 18 percent in 2008, and the company shut off service to 93,890 customers for nonpayment. An average monthly Pepco bill for Washington, D.C., customers rose from $58.16 in 2004 to $103.67 in 2009. Twenty-five percent of the company’s customers were in arrears last year.
The energy price hikes are hitting those living on fixed incomes, including seniors and disabled people, particularly hard. But many residents who don’t qualify for federal or state assistance are facing possible shut-offs as well.
According to utility officials, shortages in staffing have meant that 10 percent of bills are estimated, resulting in significant inaccuracies in energy usage by customers. Energy companies—now unregulated—are gouging customers through both price hikes and inaccurate energy-use estimates.
Making matters worse, the rise in shut-offs has dramatically increased the utilities companies’ bad debt. BGE’s bad debt has doubled to $44 million, while Pepco’s jumped from $8.7 million to $12.4 million. Customers will undoubtedly pay for the bad debt accumulated by these companies through higher prices.
Workers should not be forced to freeze and lose power so that energy companies’ owners can live lavishly. A class-conscious fight-back movement in the 1930s, during the Great Depression, was able to put a stop to similar terminations. Under the leadership of the Communist Party, committees were formed to assist homeowners and tenants unable to pay their rents and mortgages due to unemployment. In addition to turning utilities back on, the groups also moved evicted residents back into their homes and organized rent strikes.Today a militant mass movement of the people taking direct action could also stem the tide of increasing exploitation.
