00:00Across the country, electricity bills are going up.
00:03And that means Americans who already struggle making payments are more at risk of falling behind.
00:09Utility companies cut the power of up to 6 million American households every year.
00:15But a growing number of states are making it illegal to pull the plug on customers during hot periods when they rely on air conditioning.
00:23As electricity prices rise, they have to pay more per unit for electricity.
00:34So it's essentially a double squeeze for households that just simply need to have energy to be comfortable in their homes.
00:44In September, New Jersey became the 23rd state to pass heat-based disconnection protection.
00:50The Garden State joins Virginia, Illinois, Delaware, and Washington, which have all passed similar laws since 2023.
00:59Laws vary by state.
01:00For instance, in Virginia, it's illegal to shut off power if temperatures exceed 92 degrees.
01:07In Arizona, electricity providers are barred from disconnections between June 1st and October 15th.
01:14Arizona passed the law after the death of Stephanie Pullman in 2018.
01:19The 72-year-old owed $51 on the electric bill at her home in the Phoenix area when her power was cut off.
01:27A medical examiner ruled that she died from heat exposure while in her home during 100-plus degree days.
01:34During the summer months, the average temperature exceeds 100 degrees in Phoenix.
01:39That was a moment that really crystallized the need for a more humane approach to disconnection policy.
01:46Quantifying the effects of disconnection laws is a challenge.
01:51The majority of utilities are not mandated to report their disconnections.
01:56So without the data, it's really hard for us to know whether these policies specifically have been effective.
02:02Supporters of disconnection laws point to COVID-19.
02:06According to a Congressional Research Service report, 88% of residential utility customers were covered by a temporary disconnection moratorium during the pandemic.
02:17The report estimates that 12.4 million households received disconnection notices in 2020, but less than 3 million actually had their power shut off.
02:26It's just a good mental model for us to see that like actually we considered the human element of this once and there's an opportunity to kind of take some learnings from that now.
02:37In the wake of the pandemic, most states allowed utility companies to resume disconnections by the end of 2021.
02:45When the city of Tallahassee, Florida ended its moratorium, it didn't sit well with recent college graduate Shelby Green.
02:52A few years earlier, while she was a student, Green had experienced what it's like to have your power shut off.
02:58No one should be put in this experience where they can't, you know, take a warm bath or have the AC running to keep them cool or have the electricity and the lights on so that they can cook a, you know, a good homemade meal for their children.
03:16Green ended up quitting her job at a tech startup to do research and advocacy on electric utility policy.
03:23She said seasonal disconnection protections can help save lives during extreme weather, but financial struggles aren't seasonal.
03:31That bill is going to come due and if you don't pay it, then you're going to be disconnected.
03:37Florida Power and Light is considering rate increases for customers that would raise average monthly bills by $18.
03:46The company supplies power for much of the eastern portion of the state.
03:50Florida is one of six states that does not have heat or cold-based disconnection laws.
03:56For Straight Arrow News, I'm Keaton Peters.
03:58For more on this story, download the Straight Arrow News mobile app today or go to san.com.
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