<
https://truthout.org/articles/27-states-let-utilities-shut-off-electricity-for-nonpayment-during-heat-waves/>
"Coast to coast, millions of Americans are experiencing sweltering temperatures
this summer, with seemingly little relief in sight. For people who struggle to
access or afford air conditioning, the rising need for cooling is a growing
crisis.
An alarming number of Americans risk losing access to utility services because
they can’t pay their bills. Energy utility providers in 2022 shut off
electricity to at least 3 million customers who had missed a bill payment. Over
30% of these disconnections happened in the three summer months, during a year
that was among the hottest on record.
In some cases, the loss of service lasted for just a few hours. But in others,
people went without electricity for days or weeks while scrambling to find
enough money to restore service, often only to face disconnection again.
As researchers who study energy justice and energy insecurity, we believe the
United States is in the midst of a disconnection crisis. We started tracking
these disconnections utility by utility around the country, and we believe that
the crisis will only get worse as the impacts of climate change become more
widespread and more severe.
In our view, it is time government agencies and utilities start treating
household energy security as a national priority."
Via Joyce Donahue and Kenny Chaffin.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
