At least one relief agency says outlets were hit hard several weeks ago as people without sufficient money tried to pay off delinquent utility bills. Tom Bremer is an Salvation Army Field Representative. As the heating season approached, many calls for help came in...
"....people who had tried to get through the summer either a very reduced amount of utilities or none at all, so as they tried to get them back on as we get into the heating season, people with huge arrears are trying to get caught up...."
Bremer says many people who heat with propane were affected, but said the dollar amounts for help were lower than previous years...
".....so we were hit extra hard during the last two weeks of September and the first weeks of October as we were trying to get the utilities back up....."
Bremer says fewer people had requests in the thousands of dollars, rather in the hundreds of dollars and he thinks the word is getting out to be pro-active in addressing utility costs before they get out of hand.
The state-mandated winter moratorium on utility disconnection begins November 1. Consumers currently disconnected must make arrangements to pay outstanding bills in order to restore service. Wisconsin law also requires utilities to attempt to contact consumers currently disconnected in an effort to get customers reconnected, but utilities are not required to reconnect service until payment arrangements have been made. Bremer says they're seeing an increasing need for help, and he says many people are working low-paying jobs and having trouble making ends meet.
