ABINGDON, Va. – An almost universal concern expressed by many who are struggling to make it in the tight current economy is the escalating cost of electricity.
The difficulty of catching up on bills – and the added burden of deposits when they pay late – is exacerbated, they say, when the price goes up.
“It’s a story of the times,” John Shepelwich, a spokesman for Appalachian Power, said of rising power rates, the increasing difficulty for some to pay their bills and finger-pointing toward the power company.
“Everything else is going up. We’re not the only one raising prices, we’re not the only one that’s having our own economic problems with cost, we just tend to be visible,” he said.
Appalachian provides power to most of Southwest Virginia. As the economy has taken its downturn, Shepelwich said more people have received cutoff warnings, been
required to put down deposits and asked for payment plans to bring their bills up to date.
He said deposits, calculated based on a customer’s highest two consecutive months of power usage, are the only way for the company to protect itself against non-payment – and, therefore, the need to pass the unpaid cost on to all customers.
“It’s a sad situation that we see too often,” he said of low-income customers who have higher-than-average power usage and bills because of their housing situation.
“It’s something that we do see far too often in homes that perhaps are rented and the resident cannot afford or is unable to do any kind of energy-efficiency upgrade on the property.”
But, he says, there are a few things electric customers can do when they anticipate trouble paying their bills, including:
* Learn about power usage and ways to conserve at www.wattwhyandhow.com
* Make needed repairs to your home and heating system for energy efficiency – or, if you rent, ask your landlord to make repairs.
* Call the power company before you get into trouble paying a bill.
“Always give us a call,” Shepelwich said. “Don’t be hesitant. There are a lot of people going through this right now. ... We want to help.”
dmccown@bristolnews.com | (276) 791-0701
Finding aid
For help with housing-related needs:
People Incorporated of Southwest Virginia: (276) 623-9000
For help with other needs:
* Bristol Virginia Department of Social Services, (276) 645-7450
* Russell County, Va., Department of Social Services, (276) 889-2679
* Scott County, Va., Department of Social Services, (276) 386-3631
* Smyth County, Va., Department of Social Services, (276) 783-8148
* Sullivan County, Tenn., Department of Human Services, (423) 279-9164
* Washington County, Va., Department of Social Services, (276) 645-5000
* Wise County, Va., Department of Social Services, (276) 328-8056
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