No, you can't get unlimited electric service for free

[CKoch]

[rant on]

Yes, deadbeats, I am talking to you, the people who don't pay their light bill all winter because the odds of actually getting shut off when it's cold are so small. It really is time to pay up now.

What? You don't have enough money to pay the bill? That's cause you let it accumulate for nearly SIX MONTHS!!! You gamed the system, you are in a deep hole, and you have no one to blame but yourself.

Oh, you say you are going to the news media and will post on Facebook telling everyone how heartless we are? Do you really want it on the evening news and revealed to all your "friends" that you don't pay your bills? That buying make-up, a fancy hairdo/dye job, and tattoos is more important than paying your light bill?

Newsflash: The media are not that stupid; they know that when you don't pay your bill, all the other customers have to pick up the slack.

If you are truly in need, there are programs that will help you out. Or you can actually CALL THE LIGHT COMPANY and try to set up a payment plan instead sitting in denial thinking we won't actually cut you off.

But most of you just don't know how to prioritize. Cable, movies, video games, home theater systems, internet service, and iPhones for yourself and your kids are waaaaaay more important than keeping your power on. When reality sets in, you curse and swear at our phone reps who are only following state rules that require us to try to get you pay your bill! Yes that is right, our regulators will take us to task if we don't try to collect... because it costs the rest of our customers when you don't pay!!!

[end of rant]

[Aragarthiel]

Cable, movies, video games, home theater systems, internet service, and iPhones for yourself and your kids are waaaaaay more important than keeping your power on.

The irony of that statement made me

[Kit-Ginevra]

Over here,I think they're not actually allowed to cut you off if you have someone in need-young children or elderly people-over the winter months

[workerbee222]

Some years ago, some Darwin-award type decided to hook up a generator to provide electricity when the electric company cut him off. His power was shut off in the summer. he ran the generator throughout the fall, and in winter got tired of running it outside, and moved it into the basement. The results were fatal, not only to himself, but unfortunately to his 18-year-old son as well.

Many, many questions arose in my head: why was a contractor out of money in the summer? Wouldn't he have been rolling in dough that time of year? Wouldn't electricity via a generator be far more expensive than that provided by the utility company? How did it come to pass that a man who couldn't pay bills be such a popular "friend of the bar" at a local tavern the other patrons took up a collection for his burial? If his friends and family loved and cared about him so much, and were so close to him, why did they not help him by paying his overdue bill in the summer, so his service could have been re-established before six months went by?

Enquiring minds want to know....

[WishfulSpirit]

Over here,I think they're not actually allowed to cut you off if you have someone in need-young children or elderly people-over the winter months

See if that law actually applies when your husband ends up in a wheelchair (because an uninsured jackass decided to run a light) and he needs powered 02. Oh your income just got cut by 2/3rds because he was the main breadwinner, and your landlord was double-dipping and not telling you that you owed us too? Too bad, give us our money or we cut you off. No, you can't have a payment plan. Oh, wait, I see a note here that you've called the department of regulators, who are curious as to why we won't provide power for an at-risk individual? Well of COURSE we offer payment plans, let's just get that set up for you then!

[Slave to the Phone]

I know people who refuse to pay for electricity during the summer because people die in the heat during the summer. They are always amazed that their power gets cut off because while we are still in AZ, it only gets up to about 90F up here. (30C) That's not that hot in the desert. We aren't in Phx where people really do die from the heat.

The power company has a plan for needy people who need AC during the summer. Of course, that means that people actually have to do something their financial problems instead of tossing their bills in the trash and sticking their fingers in their ears and singing Lalala, I can't hear you!

If you work with your utility company, they will work with you. If you don't, how would they know that there is a problem?

Damn, I know where I am, but I still forget at times.

[Racket_Man]

Yeah the same applies here in Cheeseheadland.

Here the power company is not really allowed to cut off a household during the winter BUT that bill does accumulate over those 4 or 5 months until around April 1st.

Every spring about this time the TV news and local newspapers do stories about persons who could or would not pay their power or gas bill and are scrambling for programs or scraping together $$$$ to catch up.

And yes even during the summer there are also rules about cutting off power for someone who is "in need" meaning someone who is disabled or needs power for their medical equipment or A/C or meds or the like.

[Aragarthiel]

I know people who refuse to pay for electricity during the summer because people die in the heat during the summer. They are always amazed that their power gets cut off because while we are still in AZ, it only gets up to about 90F up here. (30C) That's not that hot in the desert. We aren't in Phx where people really do die from the heat.

When I lived in Phoenix, the problem wasn't paying the bill. It was that every summer, without fail, the AC unit broke and we couldn't afford to fix it. My sisters and I learned to love sprinklers from a young age.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Thanks for reminding me of Doofus, one of the most useless wastes of a penis I've ever had the displeasure of working with.

He, his girlfriend, and his kids were on food stamps. They were lying about their living status to get more than they should've, but Doofus's answer to that was "The food stamps are in her name, I let her worry about that."

They didn't pay their power bill during the winter either, because "we know they can't cut us off. We'll worry about that when summer comes"

Yet he had money to build and maintain a race car and pay pit fees to compete at the local dirt track every week. On his part-time income and her income as a manager at a sub shop. I did find out later they were getting generous gifts of cash from his parents. It isn't as if he was winning races or even finishing well.

As for the electric bill that was being put off until summer--Doofus stopped coming to work just as summer was approaching.

[Golden Phoenix]

Ex Uk power company debt collector here.

We couldn't cut people off if they were "at risk" during winter months either. What we *could* do was force fit a pre-payment meter.

Force fits meant that the meter was replaced without the homeowner's permission, since the meter and all other equipment leading up to it was our property. If the meter was located inside a property we would obtain a court warrant and make entry using a locksmith. (and a qualified dog handler, and the police, if needed, and it often was)

And for those not in the know, a prepay meter is exactly what it sounds like, the meter would have a slot for an electronic "key" or card which you would load up with credit at a local shop and then insert into the meter to get your power/gas. The meters would also be set to reclaim a set amount of the credit (usually £3-£10) per week until the debt was cleared.

If we couldn't fit a prepay...we waited for summer.

Unfortunately some people know that they were the kind of at-risk that meant they couldn't be force fitted with a pre-pay meter and we couldn't cut them off. So they'd set up payment plan after payment plan and never pay a penny, essentially getting their supply completely for free for years. The most notorious customer owed us well into the six figures at the point i left. Not only was he gaming the system but he would gloat about it too and was abusive towards staff. This guy had a live in nurse and his able bodied wife living with him but always argued (and won with the ombudsman) that if we fit a pre-pay meter he would be without electricity because he was in a wheelchair and couldn't top the meter up.

The ombudsman said we couldn't make him prove that no-one could top up the meter.

(Total aside, guess how many pot farms we found during warrant executions. Lol)

[Evannah]

So they think they can get away with cheating the system and yet YOU are the heartless ones for not letting them get away with stealing? Riiiight...

Good luck with them going to the media. They'll be in an even deeper hole then haha.

[Golden Phoenix]

So they think they can get away with cheating the system and yet YOU are the heartless ones for not letting them get away with stealing? Riiiight...

Good luck with them going to the media. They'll be in an even deeper hole then haha.

Oh yes, in these situations it's always the poor little downtrodden person against the giant faceless cold, cruel, emotionless corporate giant.

Totally ignoring the fact that they haven't paid in *months* and if they (and others like them) would actually pay up then a significant section of the company payroll would become surplus to requirements, bringing down everyone's bills. Not to mention, the company pays for the power, than charges people for the power they use, just like any other business. It's always "all in the name of profit and "only care about the bottom line"...yeah, like any other business that wants to keep it's doors open. Make a loss? Company closes.

[wolfie]

This guy had a live in nurse and his able bodied wife living with him but always argued (and won with the ombudsman) that if we fit a pre-pay meter he would be without electricity because he was in a wheelchair and couldn't top the meter up.

The ombudsman said we couldn't make him prove that no-one could top up the meter.

(Total aside, guess how many pot farms we found during warrant executions. Lol)

WTF? Whatever the ombudsman was smoking, I hope he brought enough to share. Not allowing the power company to make someone prove that they can't top up a pre-pay meter, merely accepting his word for it when there are 2 able-bodied people on the premises?

As for the "indoor gardeners", they were probably growing for their own consumption, since a commercial operation would be bringing in enough cash to pay the electric bill - and they'd know that if they paid the bill like normal people, the power company would have no reason to come in and find their agricultural operation. An "own consumption" garden would naturally cloud the gardeners' minds so they wouldn't be able to follow this logic.

[nutraxfornerves]

When I was about 10, my parents did a major upgrade of the house wiring, something that probably had not been done in 25 years. When replacing the meter, the electrician found that a rather clever shunt had been installed at some time, probably during the Depression (and later disconnected). It was designed so that only one electric line ran through the meter. The rest went straight from the power lines into the house. That way, enough electricity was metered to keep the electric company from being suspicious, but most of it was free. It was placed in such a way that a meter reader wouldn't see it without dismantling the meter.

The electrician also screwed up and connected the entire house to a 220V line. When he flipped the switch to turn the power back on, it blew out half the lightbulbs in the house, plus a radio. Fortunately, the refrigerator compressor was not running at the time, and no other 110V appliances were turned on.

[skeptic53]

My mother emigrated to USA from Scotland. In the old days (1920's to don't-know-when) all or most UK meters were pre-pay, you inserted coins. When it was cold in our house she used to put on a thick Scots accent and cry out "Put a shillin' in the meter!"