Activists, petitioners fight utility shutoffs

The Public Utilities Commission allows dozens of appeals hearings for gas and electricity customers, but refuses to loosen its rules for debtors.

Tuesday, April 19, 2005 BY BENJAMIN N. GEDAN, Journal Staff Writer

WARWICK -- Backed by a crowd of sign-waving activists, 73 people requested hearings yesterday to keep their gas and electricity on, as protesters converged on the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission headquarters to mark the end of the winter utility-shutoff moratorium.

The regulatory agency granted dozens of hearings after receiving identical, one-page documents from people demanding three years to pay their accumulated utility bills.

But the commission denied a proposal that would forestall utility shutoff for debtors who immediately pay 10 percent of their bills and cover their remaining debts within 36 months. First-time debtors must now pay 25 percent of their bills to delay shutoff, and complete all payments within a year.

"What we wanted to do today was take the offensive," said Henry Shelton, coordinator for the George Wiley Center, the Pawtucket-based advocacy group that organized the protest. "That was our way of showing there is an emergency."

Last year, utility companies shut off service to 21,494 households, the highest number since 1997. Shelton said 801 households have lost gas or electric service this year. Friday, the state ended its winter moratorium, leaving low-income families again vulnerable to shutoffs.

Thomas Kogut, spokesman for the state Division of Public Utilities and Carriers, said the Public Utilities Commission will maintain its shutoff rules while the General Assembly considers possible changes. State officials are reviewing recommendations from an ad hoc committee studying heating-assistance policy, Kogut said.

About 150 people protested the regulations yesterday on Jefferson Boulevard. The rules, approved in 2002, force some homeowners to pay up to 50 percent of their utility debts immediately to stop a shutoff.

Forty-five people delayed the shutoff of their gas service yesterday; 28 people preserved, at least temporarily, their electricity.

"The struggle doesn't sound so scary because it's warm now," said Julie Silvia, a George Wiley Center organizer. "But they're using candles, and there really is a safety issue here."

Representatives of the George Wiley Center also lobbied at a commission meeting on April 7. Another protest is planned April 29, when, Silvia said, she will help fight a proposed rate increase for gas.

The battle will also resume at informal hearings over the next few weeks, in which many of the 73 people who delayed their utility shutoffs yesterday will argue for longer financing plans with smaller down payments.

Kogut defended the rules yesterday, saying they prevent homeowners from accumulating even greater debts.

Benjamin N. Gedan can be reached at bgedan [at] projo.com

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