When Amy Bregy and her husband received a disconnection notice from Central Maine Power in November, her husband paid $900 out of the $1,000 that CMP said they owed, taking at face value the company’s declaration that the couple could face disconnection without payment.
But in actuality, the disconnection notice they received came during the winter period (lasting until April 15) in which utilities are prohibited from turning off a residential customer’s power without approval from the Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC), which is rarely granted.
Bregy — who has lost a significant amount of her income during the pandemic — explained that the money sent to CMP had ramifications for the couple over the holidays.
“My husband paid $900. And that’s going into the Christmas season. We decided to pay our electric bill rather than having a Christmas,” said Bregy, who lives in Berwick.
Bregy is not alone, as CMP has issued thousands of disconnection notices to residential customers since November, the Portland Press Herald reported. And while those notices essentially function as empty threats because of the PUC rule, recipients say the messages add additional stress during a time when many are already struggling.
Because of that, some in government, including state Rep. Seth Berry (D-Bowdoinham), are pushing back. Berry has introduced legislation this session to prevent the practice of winter disconnection notices, calling the messages “abusive” and “terrifying.”
“[The notices] are adding to peoples’ stress at a time when it’s the last thing they need,” he told Beacon earlier this month. “And it may in fact lead them to make bad choices like going without food or medicine. But what people need to understand is they’re empty threats — they’re not real ones.”
Maine Public Advocate Barry Hobbins also criticized winter disconnection notices, expressing frustration earlier this month with a PUC decision not to suspend the practice during the current winter period. CMP customers who brought the complaint to the PUC filed an appeal of the commission’s decision Tuesday.
“Since the start of the winter period, the number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in Maine have increased exponentially,” Hobbins said in the news release after the PUC’s decision. “Maine businesses continue to struggle and, as a result, many workers are either unemployed or have had their hours and compensation substantially reduced. Congress has just extended the moratorium on evictions and a moratorium on the issuance of disconnection notices should be implemented as well.”
A frightening notice to receive
Customers of CMP who have recently been sent a disconnection notice say the messages are stressful to receive, especially given the current state of the world.
“It doesn’t matter [to CMP] that we’re in the middle of a pandemic,” said Bregy, who disputes that she owed as much as the power company claimed she did. “It doesn’t matter that I’ve permanently lost most of my income.”
Bregy added that she’s frustrated that the PUC allows CMP to send the shutoff notices.
During a PUC hearing on the question of disconnection notices, Chairman Phil Bartlett ultimately sided with CMP in allowing the company to continue sending the notices, saying the commission provides assistance to customers who receive such messages.
“While receiving a disconnection notice is understandably distressing, it may also unlock additional help,” Bartlett said, according to the Portland Press Herald. He suggested customers struggling to pay their electricity bills call 211 to see what assistance may be available.
But Bregy said utilities shouldn’t legally be allowed to send disconnection notices in the winter since they likely won’t be permitted to follow through with shutoffs during that time period.
“I’m upset that the PUC is allowing this,” Bregy said.
Lynnea Hawkins is another Mainer who recently received a disconnection notice from CMP, getting the message in early January after she fell behind on payments.
Hawkins, who lives in Lewiston, said the notice shows where CMP’s priorities lie.
“It’s one of those things [where] they don’t care what time of year it is, they don’t care what your financial situation is, they don’t care that it’s December and Christmas or any of that,” Hawkins said. “That doesn’t matter. It’s all about when do they get their money.”
Hawkins said that she wasn’t aware that CMP can’t unilaterally disconnect her power during the winter period.
“I knew there used to be something like that in place but I didn’t know if it was still in place or not, and I didn’t call anyone or ask. I was just like ‘Okay great, another thing to deal with,’” Hawkins said. “I suspect a lot of people are feeling that way these days.”
Angel Vaillancourt also got a disconnection notice from CMP recently. Vaillancourt said the notice stated that she owed over $4,000, but she doesn’t believe that amount is correct. CMP was fined early last year after a PUC investigation into complaints about the company’s customer service, including billing errors.
“I’ve been very scared and stressed about the disconnect notice,” Vaillancourt said. “I can’t afford that.”
Vaillancourt added that while she had heard that CMP can’t shut off someone’s power during the winter without approval, the language used in the letter made it seem very believable that her electricity would be disconnected imminently if she didn’t pay.
‘Disconnection dates’ in January
Many others in Maine have also received disconnection notices from CMP during the winter period, with a litany of people complaining about the messages on a Facebook group of CMP customers.
One customer in that group posted a photo of a recent disconnection notice from CMP that said his power could be shut off in late January. The letter referred to that day in January as the “potential disconnection date.” Only near the bottom of the notice — as an asterisk to a line about the disconnection date — did CMP acknowledge that it needs permission from the PUC to shut off a residential customer’s power during the winter. The letter does not mention that the PUC rarely grants such a request in the winter.
To Bregy, it’s clear from the format of CMP’s disconnection notices and the language used what the company is trying to accomplish with the messages.
“It’s a fear tactic,” she said.
Photo via Central Maine Power Facebook page
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Struggling Mainers call CMP's winter disconnection notices a 'fear tactic' - mainebeacon.com
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