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Hernando Today

Utility Disconnections Increasing

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By TONY HOLT

Hernando Today

Published: July 4, 2008

SPRING HILL - SPRING HILL - Local utility companies are working harder than normal this summer.

It's not because of the hot weather. It's the frigid economy.

Local water, gas and electric companies are seeing more bounced checks, issuing more late fees and shutting down more services.

"We're seeing a slight increase in outages," said Progress Energy spokeswoman Cherie Jacobs. "It's the economic conditions."

Statewide, the electric company has discovered a 15 percent increase in the number of disconnections compared to a year ago. Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative has seen similar statistics.

Amber Costa is a meter reader for Heritage Propane. The company runs an underground pipeline along Spring Hill. Costa's territory stretches from the Barclay Avenue to U.S. 19.

"I read about 400 houses per day," she said. "I see a lot of them foreclosed or vacant. A lot of people have no gas or hot water."

She operates the local skate park and as a result, knows many of the local teenagers.

Costa said she allowed five teens to spend the night at her home during the three-day cold spell in January because their parents could not afford to heat their homes.

"It's 10 times worse now," she said. "A lot of homes around here are rental houses. They have no electricity, water or gas, but they're still living there."

For the Hernando County Utilities Department, more water services are disconnected during the Christmas season because more people are strapped for money that time of year. By the spring, people get caught up on their bills and the number of disconnections decreases, said Director Joe Stapf. That was the trend in previous years, long before gas approached $4 per gallon and unemployment spiked. The number of bounced checks among water customers remained in the 36 to 39 range from March through May. By the end of last month, 71 customers had checks returned to them because of insufficient funds, Stapf said.

Of the more than 58,000 accounts, 1,045 had their water services disconnected in June - up 40 percent from four months ago, according to Utility Department statistics.

"Is it a trend? Well, that's hard to say," said Stapf. "June's numbers do (show) people are having trouble paying their bills, more so than in previous months."

Gas and electric companies offer payment plans to those customers who are struggling to pay their bills.
Progress Energy customers, employees and other corporations may donate money to the Energy Neighbor Fund, which is overseen by the Salvation Army and other social service organizations. It is designed to assist low-income families with their power bills during times of need.

"Disconnecting someone's power is always a last resort," Jacobs said.

Reporter Tony Holt can be reached at 352-544-5283 or wholt@hernandotoday.com.

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