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May 13, 2008 9:49 am US/Eastern
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Hundreds Of Families Face Utility Shutoff
Winter Moratorium For Non-Paying Customers Is Up
WORCESTER (WBZ) ―
The grace period is over for families who haven't been able to pay their utility bills. Now some are having their power cut off, and they are still struggling.
Olivia Rodriguez of Worcester has no gas service. No cooking and no dishwashing since her service was turned off. She couldn't pay her bills over the winter, and she's not alone.
"$500 for the first month was really incredible for me. I was just overwhelmed when I saw it," Olivia recalled to WBZ-TV's Beth Germano.
Janet Medina returned home with groceries to find she had no electricity. Her last bill had topped $1,600, and with three children and a sudden May chill, she is missing her electric heat.
"It was very scary," she said. "I was very desperate. I didn't know what to do."
Utilities can not turn off service to non-paying customers until May 1, when the warmer months arrive. With that moratorium now lifted, more than 300 families in the Worcester area alone are looking for help.
"It's a compound problem of the high cost of fuel, limited income, jobs are really spread thin," said Jill Dagilis of Worcester Community Action Council. She is now fielding fifty calls a day from hundreds of people just like Olivia and Janet, who are facing shutoff.
Utilities will allow a payment plan. Most utilities are even willing to forgive a portion of the bill if an overdue customer pays off at least some of what they owe.
"I could do like $100, but $200 or $300 is too much," Olivia said.
But until her payment plan is approved, Olivia Rodriguez will use an electric grill to cook, and will use her microwave for hot water. It's a quick but necessary fix.
Even once the gas and electricity come on again, many of these families will likely face the same challenge next winter - a challenge Janet Medina is determined to overcome.
"I have to manage," she said. "I have to do it and I'm going to do it."
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