Genia Weitz, 58, and her husband, Daryl Mason, retreated to their 300-square-foot living room this summer to keep their electricity bill down. Weitz received a disconnection notice in September showing a total balance of $1,340.96, far more than her monthly income. State rules barred shut-offs only while the heat index stayed above 101 degrees, and it had dropped to 99, giving her nine days to pay. The couple depends on an oxygen machine and a CPAP machine, and Weitz says she could not survive a single night without power.
The bill comes as the United States endures its hottest summer on record, running about three degrees above average, hotter than the Dust Bowl summer of 1936 and the 2021 heat dome. About one in six U.S. households is already behind on utility bills, according to federal data. More than a dozen hot-weather states, including Arizona, Georgia, Virginia and Oklahoma, restrict shut-offs during the most dangerous heat, so disconnections tend to peak in October.
The Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO) has disconnected Weitz's power before. The company cites rising costs for fuel, equipment, grid upgrades, extreme weather and new large-load customers, including data centers built for artificial intelligence. PSO says its rates remain below the national average and attributes higher summer bills to air-conditioners running around the clock.
Weitz has found that some power companies offer 30 days of relief to people with serious medical conditions. She printed a form for her doctor, but the document warns that a life-threatening situation postpones the debt rather than forgiving it. For Weitz and Mason, the choice remains between paying a bill they cannot afford and losing the one cool room that keeps them alive.
Source: New York Times Top Stories · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing