A report from Iowa’s largest utility companies shows residents in the state owe more than 40-million dollars in past due power bills. The numbers are worrisome for those who administer assistance to low-income families. Jerry McKim, spokesman for the Iowa Human Rights Department, says he’s troubled by other information in the report, too.
McKim says that disconnection figure is the largest for any October dating back to 1999. A federal program called LIHEAP provides protection from having the power shut off during the colder months, but only for households certified as eligible.
While some nine-thousand customers were disconnected in September and October, McKim fears that number will rise significantly if energy providers ask for and are granted rate increases in 2017.
