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Northeast Consumers Drained by High Heating Costs

March 7, 2005
After a brutal winter in the northeast, some Massachusetts residents are struggling to pay their utility bills. State Attorney General Tom Reilly thinks public utilities should cut them a little slack.

Reilly is urging the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Energy (DTE) to "act quickly in the interests of our most vulnerable Massachusetts residents" and extend the winter moratorium on gas and electric companies by six weeks. The winter moratorium prohibits utility companies from terminating residential service for non-payment during the winter months.

In a letter to DTE Chairman Paul Afonso, Reilly asked the commission to extend the winter moratorium until April 30. Under state law, the DTE has the authority to extend the moratorium on termination of service, which is in effect until March 15.

The emergency state law passed in 1979 prohibits residential terminations between November 15 and March 15 for families suffering a financial hardship.

"Because of this year's extremely cold weather and major snow storms, the record-high price of fuel, and our struggling economy, this is a particularly difficult time for low-income families trying to pay electric and gas heating bills," Reilly wrote in his letter to Chairman Afonso. "Oil, natural gas and electricity prices have all increased sharply from levels a few years ago. The combination of colder weather and higher prices is forcing many families to spend more to heat their homes."

Without an extension, AG Reilly warned in his letter, the number of service terminations after March 15 is likely to skyrocket.

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