Thursday, October 9, 2008

Electricity Cut Offs Rising Sharply

According to Con Edison, almost 10,000 residential customers, through September of this year, had their electricity turned off because they failed to pay their bills, 13 percent more than in the same period in 2007. The value of those unpaid bills is $8.9 million. During the same period, 1,600 nonresidential customers (shops, offices, factories and so on) had their power turned off, an 8 percent increase.

Con Ed sends up to five warning letters over a 90-day period before ultimately turning a customer’s electricity off. Most people who get their electricity turned off are back on within a month because they have entered a payment plan or made a payment.

Between January and the end of September, 342,073 residential customers were in arrears for more than 60 days, an 18 percent jump. (The New York Times, 10/9/08)

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