Oct 10 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Patrick Garmoe Duluth News-Tribune, Minn.

The number of people whose electricity or gas has been shut off for nonpayment of their bills is up sharply in Duluth as people struggle to cope with higher prices and a shaky economy.

Minnesota Power reports a 9.7 percent jump in the number of Duluth homes they've cut off compared to last year. The number of homes where power was shut off because electric bills were unpaid went from 2,734 in the first nine months of 2007 to 2,999 in the same period this year.

"We would appear to be following national trends," said Amy Rutledge, communications manager for Minnesota Power, "and that's because energy sources are all higher."

Over the past 12 months, Duluth's Public Works and Utilities Department shut off the gas or water or both to about 800 homes, mainly due to unpaid bills, according to Nick Petrangelo, customer service manger with the City of Duluth Public Works and Utilities Department.

That's up 11.9 percent from the previous 12-month count of 715.

As bad as these numbers sound, the picture is worse in other states.

Shut-offs have been running 17 percent higher than last year among customers of New York state's major utilities, and 22 percent higher in economically hard-hit Michigan. They are up in all or part of dozens of other states, including Pennsylvania, Florida and California, according to an Associated Press check of regulators and energy companies.

Despite stepped-up efforts by governments, utilities and private groups to help people avoid shut-offs this winter, some worry the problem will only get worse in the coming months, particularly with the downturn on Wall Street.

Minnesota residents will in some cases be able to rely on the state's cold weather rule, which says that as long as certain income thresholds are met, and the home's heating bills are paid through Oct. 15, heat won't be shut off.

"Because of high gasoline prices, many families at the lower incomes have really been squeezed," said Mark Wolfe, executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors' Association. "It's like triage: You pay the most important things, and the last thing you pay is your utility bill."

Congress recently approved a measure to nearly double the federal money available to help poor people cope with home heating costs, whether they use oil, gas or electricity. But advocates say the $5.1 billion is unlikely to be enough.

Utilities and private groups are also chipping in, helping customers make payments and winterize their homes. In hard-hit Detroit, DTE Energy matches money spent by a local group called The Heat and Warmth Fund and meets with customers at churches to work out payment arrangements.

That's true locally as well.

Both the City of Duluth and Minnesota Power say shutting off someone's power only occurs after efforts to get the resident to stick to a payment plan are exhausted. They also put customers in touch with organizations that can help cover home heating costs, such as the Arrrowhead Economic Opportunity Agency, St. Louis County and the Salvation Army.

"If they are having problems paying their bill, they need to contact us," Rutledge said. "We certainly are willing to talk with them and figure out how we can find a suitable payment arrangement."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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