GA: 200,000 face cutoff of natural gas service unless bills are paid

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200,000 face cutoff of natural gas service unless bills are paid

ATLANTA -- About 200,000 natural gas customers in Georgia face having their service cut off unless they pay overdue bills over the next couple of weeks. The Public Service Commission imposed a moratorium on shutoffs for nonpayment on Jan. 17 because of record high winter heating bills. That moratorium expires April 1.

Out of 1.5 million homes and businesses, 14 percent are at risk of having their service disconnected.

Marketers said Wednesday that they don't expect anywhere near that number to have their gas shut off. Many delinquent customers are expected to pay past-due balances or make payment arrangements after receiving notices.

The PSC planned to issue an advisory as early as Thursday urging gas customers not to delay.

"Do not wait until the end of the month of March to contact your marketer or you may not be able to get through to your marketer in time," the advisory says.

Under PSC rules, service disconnects require five days" notice, payments must be at least 45 days late, and the gas marketer must make a 'good faith effort" to contact the customer.

Catherine Waters, vice president of customer service at the state's No. 1 marketer, Georgia Natural Gas, said 50,000 to 60,000 of its 560,000 customers have overdue balances. Other marketers have reported another 146,000 accounts in arrears.

Georgia Natural Gas placed 5,000 automated telephone calls last week asking customers to call about overdue bills. The system continues to make 1,000 calls a day. The marketer will start sending letters Wednesday warning of disconnection.

Scana Energy, the No. 2 marketer, plans a "tiered" approach, beginning with customers who have "never paid or refused to work with Scana," a spokeswoman said. The company is working on payment plans with about 6,000 customers.

No. 3 marketer Shell Energy is sending letters to customers who have had multiple prior notices warning that the company might disconnect their service in April.

Click here to return to story: http://www.savannahmorningnews.com/smn/stories/031601/LOCgas.shtml

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), March 16, 2001

Answers

Another huge puzzle piece and domino if you will:

Catherine Waters, vice president of customer service at the state's No. 1 marketer, Georgia Natural Gas, said 50,000 to 60,000 of its 560,000 customers have overdue balances. Other marketers have reported another 146,000 accounts in arrears.

So roughly 10% of Georgia Natural Gas customers are paycheck to paycheck. Can you say, eviction?, foreclosure?, bankruptcy?

I wonder how the new bankruptcy bill is going to mesh with our economy going into reverse? I believe essentially the bill won't allow debts to be waived but will require repayment programs. What if they still can't repay, do they go to jail? Oooooh I predict courts are going to be inundated.

Pawn shops are going to be BOOMING!

-- Guy Daley (guydaley@altavista.com), March 16, 2001.


There will be great bargains at garage sales and flea markets. I'm already seeing people sitting by the roadside trying to sell what little they have to make ends meet. We are in a deflationary period right now, goods are cheap and getting cheaper. BTW, I expect stores to tighten their "return and exchange," policies. Instead of getting cash back for your return, they will issue you a store credit. Target Stores are notorious for having this policy. WalMart and Sears will soon follow suit. Here is where your credit card comes in handy. If you charge items on your card, at least you'll get the credit on your card instead of having to purchase something from their store.

-- CAkidd (CAkidd_94520@yahoo.com), March 17, 2001.

Obviously this is not just a Georgia problem.

Thursday March 15 07:22 PM EST

Thousands Face Natural Gas Cutoff In the wake of this year's frigid winter, thousands of Missouri Gas Energy customers face having their natural gas shut off. KMBC 9's Peggy Breit tried to find out what customers can do to avoid problems.

"I got (a bill for) $1,417.22, and this is the final disconnect notice," MGE customer Doreen Thompson said.

Thompson said that this has been a brutal winter in more ways than one for her. Her fixed income simply can't keep pace with her MGE bills, Breit reported.

"That bill right there is more than my Social Security is," Thompson said. "It doesn't keep up at all. (I've) just been paying my bills until it got to the point where I couldn't."

Thomas said that she realizes that she isn't alone. The high cost of heat has left thousands of people on the verge of a gas cutoff. And as of April 1, the cutoffs will begin in earnest. That is when the Cold Weather Rule that forces MGE to keep gas on is no longer in effect.

The utility knows that its customers are feeling snowed under by the record-high bills. For many, this winter was the first time that they've been unable to pay on time.

But Thompson said that she has learned a lesson from the situation in which she has found herself. Get help wherever you can find it and give the gas company a call, she said.

"If you don't have it, you don't have it," She said. "But if you make an effort to pay a little bit, then that stops them from cutting you off."

Between help from the Seton Center and a payback schedule, Thompson said that she hopes to have her gas bill paid off by July.

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/kmbc/20010315/lo/336819_1.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), March 17, 2001.


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