EVERETT — Feel like you’re being nickel-and-dimed?
You’re not alone.
You name it. Water bill, sewer bill, grocery bill, they’ve gone up in the past year. In April, your power bill could also increase by an additional $2 to $5 a month.
Not enough to break the bank for most. For the laid off construction worker or the fixed-income senior, however, many are already on the brink. Enough nickels and dimes can push them over.
“We see a lot of folks that are living on very, very tiny incomes and their incomes are not going up,” said Salvation Army Capt. Dana Libby at the charity’s community center in Everett earlier this week. “They’re left with the difficult choice of, ‘Do I pay a little on the PUD bill or do I eat?’”
Last week, the Snohomish County Public Utility District announced a proposed rate hike for its 300,000 customers in Snohomish County and Camano Island.
That comes at a time when they’re seeing more and more people needing help with energy bills.
About 19,600 PUD customers had their power shut off from January to November last year. That’s an increase of 900 households through all of 2007.
Calls for power-bill help on Snohomish County’s 211 line, which connects people with social services, doubled from 2007 to 2008.
Getting power shut off is an avoidable step for many, Snohomish County PUD officials say. Since the 1980s, the utility has offered discounts ranging from 20 percent to 60 percent from regular rates.
“They just don’t use assistance that they would qualify for,” PUD spokesman Neil Neroutsos said.
During the coldest months of the year, Snohomish County runs a similar program to help people with their heating bill. It also provides money to weatherize poor people’s homes.
This year, the county received much more than in the past to aid people, said Bill Beuscher, supervisor of the program operated by Snohomish County.
In 2007-08, the county had $2.36 million available to residents. This winter, the money available jumped to $3.75 million.
The county hopes to aid 7,900 households this year. But people need to contact them.
The PUD doesn’t know how many delinquent customers are low income, but the utility does regularly learn that people are in dire financial straits only after their power has been shut off.
That triggers a requirement to pay a re-connection fee, which can compound the problem.
“Our message to customers is contact us early if it looks like you’re having problems,” Neroutsos said.
The PUD does not shut off electricity when temperatures drop below 32 degrees. It also does not shut off power for people between Nov. 15 and March 15 if the customer can prove that they are low income and sets up a minimum payment plan.
Short of direct help, Neroutsos said people can cut down on their bills by conserving energy.
The utility has a robust energy efficiency program that includes low-interest loans for energy-efficiency improvements, such as insulation, and rebates items such as energy-efficient appliances.
Reporter David Chircop: 425-339-3429 or dchircop@heraldnet.com.
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