Is city’s policy on utility shut-off unfair? One resident thinks so

A city resident whose power was shut off after her utility bill was misplaced told members of the city council there should be a warning given before the lights go out.
 Liz Mowrey, a 33-year resident of Weiser, brought her concerns about the city’s policy on overdue electric bills to a recent meeting of the city council.
 She said she returned from vacation and misplaced her utility bill. Days later, her power was shut off without any notice.
 While it was an inconvenience for her, Mowrey said she was able to move her perishable food to a cooler elsewhere on a 100-degree day and sleep in an air-conditioned RV. Other city residents whose power is shut off may be in a worse situation.
 She admitted she was “pretty steamed” about the situation and decided to address the city council about the issue.
 “This is a really terrible policy,” she said, describing it as “uncaring” and “unfair.”
 She asked what would happen to elderly residents if their power was shut off, or someone on an oxygen machine or someone who needed to keep insulin cold. The city should give residents the opportunity to pay the bill before power is shut off without warning. If it does get shut off, there is a fee to get it turned back on.
 “If this policy is simply a money-maker for the city, I submit that there must be better ways to do this,” she said.
 The city owns its own electric utility and does not have to follow the regulations enforced by the Public Utility Commission, the state’s regulatory agency. The PUC has a policy that requires power companies under its purview to give customers 24 hours notice before the power is turned off.
 The city used to put tags on doors warning residents the power would be shut off in 24 hours. The ordinance was changed in 2014 because people would wait until they received a final warning before they paid their power bills, city clerk Dave Tate said.
 The city’s utility bills are payable upon receipt, which is stated on the bills. If the outstanding bill is not paid by the due date, power is turned off after five days and a late fee is assessed. It was also mentioned at the city council meeting that customers can pay bills online 24/7 or call and make a payment during business hours.
 City council member Randy Hibberd said he has concerns that the city provides no written warning before power is shut off due to a delinquent bill. He said it’s possible that people can slip up with remembering to pay the bill.
 Other council members were less sympathetic and said residents know its a recurring bill and should make arrangements to pay it, even if they are on vacation.
 “Forgetting to pay it is not a very good excuse. It comes every month,” Larry Hogg said. “I really don’t see a need to change our policy.”
 Having a city employee go out and put a tag on a door before the power is shut off due to an unpaid bill or sending a warning in the mail is expensive and time consuming. There are about 3,000 city power customers and only a small fraction don’t pay on time.
 Council member Cliff Barberis said the city has to have a final due date for bills. The utility bill currently gives a date when the payment is past due, which is about two weeks from the date they are issued.
 “How many warnings do you give people?”
 Councilmembers Layna Hafer and Dan Randleman said they were willing to look at the city’s power shut-off policy but made no promises that anything would change. Councilmember Alicia Cavazos said with today’s technology maybe the city could send a final warning to an overdue account via email or text message.