More struggle to pay energy costs

As the recession deepens, more Virginia utility subscribers are falling behind in paying their winter heating bills, and more are having their electric and gas service disconnected, officials said.

“There’s an uptick in the number of customers who are having difficulty paying their electrical bills,“ Dominion Virginia Power spokesman David Botkins said.

This year, 16 percent of Dominion Virginia Power’s residential customers are in arrears, the company said.

“We’re also seeing a broader range of customers that are now being affected as a result of the economic conditions we’re currently experiencing,“ as customers who have always paid their energy bills on time are now having trouble paying, Botkins said.

Call us, utilities tell people struggling to cover their heating costs: We’ll work with you.

Figures from utilities and charities show the growing impact of the nation’s staggering economy on ordinary Virginians:

* The number of Dominion Virginia Power customers delinquent on their electric bills in 2008 was 3 percent greater than it was the year before, while the amount of the average overdue bill grew by 14 percent.

* The Salvation Army here saw requests for utility assistance in January increase 300 percent over the number it received in January 2008, according to the United Way of Greater Richmond and Petersburg, which is the assistance program’s financial agent.

* Columbia Gas of Virginia disconnected 16 percent more of its natural gas customers in 2008 than it did in 2007—16,437, compared with 14,177—and the Chesterfield County company saw its end-of-the-year accounts receivable soar 37 percent, from $2.1 million in December 2007 to $2.9 million in December 2008.

* The number of worried customers calling Richmond’s Department of Public Utilities to ask about making arrangements to pay their gas bills jumped almost 13 percent between November and January and the same period a year ago. “This is a leading indicator that delinquency will increase in coming months due to the economy,“ said Angela D. Fountain with the city utility agency. “We have not yet seen or felt the full impact of the layoffs, business closures [and] bankruptcies . . . that have just occurred within the past several weeks.“

Dominion Virginia Power is the state’s largest electric utility, serving 2.4 million customers in Virginia and North Carolina. Richmond’s utilities agency serves 107,500 gas customers in the metro area, while Columbia Gas has nearly 240,000 clients statewide.

Columbia Gas representatives were in Washington yesterday lobbying Congress to continue $5.1 billion in funding to help low-income people across the country pay their energy bills.

“We recognize there’s increasing need with the way the economy is changing,“ Columbia’s Bob Innes said, “and we want to make sure Congress understands that.“

“We’re seeing people who are struggling with these issues because of reductions of income or job losses,“ said Bruce McClary with ClearPoint Credit Counseling Solutions. “They simply don’t have the money to pay.“

Between December 2007 and last December, the nonprofit credit counseling agency based in Richmond experienced a 140 percent increase in the number of people in financial trouble that it helped, McClary said.

“The best advice I can give someone facing a utility bill they cannot pay is to pick up the phone and contact the utility provider,“ McClary said. “They don’t want to have to come out and shut off your utility.“