Legislation aims to protect residents from heat shut-offs

Recently, my Senate colleagues and I introduced a  bipartisan legislative package that will protect Michigan residents by banning dangerous winter utility shut-offs and regulating other shut-off practices. Nearly everyone in the state is familiar with the tragic death of an elderly Bay City man who froze to death in his home after a service limiter was installed. Tragedy struck again later when two children died in a Fruitport Township house fire caused by kerosene heaters that were being used to heat the home after the gas company had shut off their service.

No one should die because of an unpaid utility bill, and no individual or family should go without utilities during our coldest winter months. The Winter Shut-off Protection Package protects customers while instituting a ban on utility shut-offs during the winter months and establishing universal shut-off procedures for utilities to follow when a customer is behind on their bill.

During these dangerously cold winter months, I have been contacted by so many – too many – constituents on the verge of having their heat turned off because they cannot pay their bill. Many of these have been seniors or families with children. We need to extend additional protection to these citizens during the winter to guarantee that no one freezes to death on our watch.

My bill in this package, Senate Bill 326, would ban the use of service limiters, like the one that recently caused the death in Bay City, until the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) develops proper, uniform standards regarding their use. Marvin Schur, a 93-year-old World War II veteran, was found frozen to death in his home earlier this year after Bay City Electric Light & Power, a municipal utility not subject to MPSC rules, placed an electric limiter on his home. This is exactly the kind of tragedy that this new legislation would help prevent.

The other bills in the Winter Shut-off Protection Package would:

·      Permanently outlaw winter shut-offs for all utilities from December 1 to March 31;

·      Require a utility company to give all customers at least 15 days notice before shutoff through a certified letter or delivery of a shutoff notice in person before cutting power, and;

·      Expand the authority of the MPSC to include all utilities, including municipalities, for regulating shutoffs.

The package will also require a utility provider to include information on government, company or other assistance programs that are available with any utility service shut-off notice, and establish penalties for improperly shutting off a utility service. This may include a fine to the utility company that goes into the Low Income & Energy Efficiency Fund, which provides shut-off and other protections for low-income consumers and promotes energy efficiency, as well as possibly ordering a customer refund.

With this legislation we are seeking to act swiftly to protect Michigan residents during the brutally cold winter months. These are common sense guidelines for customers and utility providers to follow. These bills are currently in the Senate Committee on Energy Policy and Public Utilities. I will work with my colleagues to see that they move quickly so that no one will face a utility shut-off during the next Michigan winter.

Sen. Scott represents Michigan's 2nd Senate district, which includes portions of Detroit as well as Hamtramck, Highland Park, Harper Woods and all five Grosse Pointes. She serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee. Visit her online.

• Login or register to post comments
• Printer-friendly version
• Send to friend