Sharon Williams, 58, overheard some concerning talk among the residents at the apartment complex where she lives with her mother.
Some of the residents at Homer G. Phillips Senior Apartments in St. Louis say they turn their heat off during the day because they don't want their utility bill getting too high. In the Midwest, where temperatures can quickly drop below freezing, this can be life-threatening for older people who are much more susceptible to hypothermia.
Williams, who is the president of the residents association, reached out to an Ameren representative she had met at a senior fair. She asked her to help the residents in her complex sign up for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance program (LIHEAP), a federally funded program that provides eligible households with financial help to pay for energy costs.
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"Most of them don't have vehicles or use the internet regularly," Williams says. Ameren agreed to send a representative who brought applications for the program. Williams set up a table in the lobby, brought a printer so people could print out their bills and assured the skeptics that it wasn't a scam.
The first time she organized this event three years ago, it was such a success that she's kept it up ever since. She and her mom qualify for a small monthly subsidy, as well.
"It's been a tremendous help because my mother has a lot of medications, and I have a lot of mobility issues," she says.
Sandy Padgett, executive director of the Consumers Council of Missouri, a consumer advocacy nonprofit, wants more consumers to be aware that they can do something about the rising cost of utilities, which have outpaced inflation and wages in recent years. She points out that utility companies will again be asking for rate increases:
Ameren has asked for a 15% rate increase from the Missouri Public Service CommissionMissouri American Water is seeking a 41% increase for households, plus doubling their monthly customer chargeSpire has proposed an 18% rate increase and a 20% increase in the monthly customer chargeMSD has begun initiating a 32% increase over the next 4 yearsSt. Louis increased water rates by 20% in July of 2023 and another 24% in January
There's always tension between utilities that have a monopoly on services and the residents who need them to survive. But the Consumers Council fears the utility companies are heavily favored in this state, Padgett says.
"We are concerned about the amount of influence utilities may have on incoming Gov. Mike Kehoe given the political donations he's received from them," she says. (Kehoe received about $600,000 in donations from utilities during his political career.)
The Consumers Council is pushing for better assistance programs for consumers, easier access to financial help, and transparency in the number and locations of disconnections.
Every state requires a public hearing before granting a rate hike. Showing up to testify at these public hearings about the impact of these increases is a way to influence the decisions.
"That testimony is meaningful," Padgett says. Unfortunately, "some hearings only have a handful of people." Ameren disconnected more than 16,000 households in September and more than 17,000 in October in the Missouri service area.
"That shows people are having trouble paying their bills," she says.
People experiencing financial hardship or surviving on limited incomes may try to ration heating or cooling in ways that could lead to hospitalization or even death, in extreme cases. Beyond poor health outcomes, access to utilities is tied to the ability to survive in so many other ways. Those cut off from electricity for cooling cannot refrigerate food. If a home is excessively cold or hot, children cannot do their schoolwork.
Williams, who recognized the challenges facing residents in her building, took action to make sure they could access the assistance available. Utility companies ought to take a proactive approach in sending people to areas with high disconnection rates or delinquencies to make sure they are enrolled -- and stay enrolled -- in programs that can help them.
Prioritize keeping vulnerable people warm during the winter over seeking even greater profits.
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