Is there light and hope if you can't pay your utility bills?

The last of the moratoriums on gas and electricity cut-offs ended yesterday: disconnections can restart next week. How will struggling customers fare?

A COLD, DARK nightmare has become a depressing reality in Ireland in the past year as the number of people who have had their electricity disconnected because of mounting arrears has soared.

About 2,500 people were cut off from one of the most basic of services each month last year, and charities have recorded a dramatic increase in the numbers contacting them looking for help in keeping their light and heat on as the recession tightens its grip.

Last year about 150,000 customers of the ESB, which is by far the biggest player in the market, entered into payment plans, an indication of the numbers struggling to make ends meet.

The problem of disconnection is going to get worse, however, with the Government forcing a price hike of nearly 5 per cent on electricity from last October to cover funding alternative energy sources; oil and gas prices set to rise on global markets; more people expected to lose their jobs; and still more feeling the pain of December’s budget.

Those struggling to make payments were given some respite during the bitterly cold weather at the beginning of last month when the ESB, Bord Gáis Energy and Airtricity introduced moratoriums on disconnections. The last of the moratoriums ended yesterday, and the policy of cutting off those who do not pay restarts next week.

This newspaper recently received an eloquent letter painting a sad picture of what it is like to be at the centre of the storm. In an open letter to one utility company, the woman wrote of the “sick feeling” in her stomach when someone arrived at her home to cut off her service.

“Both myself and my husband have lost jobs in the past two years, having worked all our lives. We have a mortgage and young children, like countless others,” the letter says.

They had renegotiated their bills continually with the different institutions depending on their finances. “Thankfully my husband is back to work but we are still working hard to get through our backlog of bills,” it says.

The couple managed to stop the disconnection at the last minute, but she still expressed shame at the whole experience. She is not alone.

The number of people contacting the Society of St Vincent de Paul for help increased by 35 per cent last year, according to its spokesman, Jim Walsh, and he expects the problem to worsen significantly in the coming months.

“Our main message is that people need to deal with the problem as early as they possibly can,” Walsh says. “We have a good relationship with the electricity providers and have ways of stopping disconnections.”

The charity has seen a shift in the type of people contacting it in recent months. One in four people who got in touch last year had never made contact with the society before.

“There is an element of embarrassment that stops some people coming to us sooner,” he says. “People believe they have hit rock bottom if they have to come to us, but that is not the case. People can come to us without any shame.

“They may not need money, just help with working out a payment plan or stopping a disconnection. The earlier they contact us, the more equipped we are to do that.”

There has been some relief for consumers in recent weeks. Late last year the energy regulator reduced the fee for reconnection to €70 from just over €197. Walsh points out, however, that a €70 fee on top of hefty arrears is still hard for many people to manage.

The Commission for Energy Regulation has also changed its code of practice on disconnections and has made it harder for utility firms to cut off householders with genuine payment difficulties.

Suppliers have to contact customers successfully at least four times, twice in writing, before disconnecting their supply. They will have to give at least 10 days’ notice and must use plain English in all correspondence.

There have been calls for legislative changes that would make it illegal for companies to disconnect domestic users. Northern Ireland has a zero-disconnect policy for domestic users. Those who fall into arrears are given meters and must pay off what they owe over a long period.

Moves are in train to introduce a similar meter system in the Republic. The commission has said the three electricity providers will have to make a combined total of 17,5000 meters available this year, although industry sources say this number is very low and will barely make a dent in the problem.

An ESB spokesman says the company’s policy is to engage with people rather than cut their supply. “We work with our customers to arrange payment plans and budget payments to avoid the necessity for disconnection.”

He describes the disconnection process as long. “Customers will receive a number of reminders over a period of months in the form of text and voice messages, letters and telephone calls prior to receiving notification warning of disconnection,” he says.

A spokesman for Bord Gáis says he expects the issue to be huge this year but that customers who engage with the firm will not be disconnected.

The two options are to work out a payment plan or to have a prepaid meter installed.

“There has been a stigma around meters and people are saying we are not that bad,” he says. “But in many cases prepaid meters can make it easier to budget and they are likely to become much more commonplace this year.”

Airtricity also says it does not want to disconnect people, not least because that makes the recovery of arrears even more difficult.

A spokesman says the company wants to keep open channels of communication with customers who are struggling and to work out equitable payment plans.