Utility looks into death of Vicksburg woman after power shut off

I thought utilities couldn't shut off services during the winter months? What a horrific way to go, freeze to death in your own home.:(

Heat during the winter is a "RIGHT" not a privilege. Like hospitals that accept patients without insurance, regardless of ability to pay, heat should never be turned off on anyone when temps are below freezing. What happend to that poor soul was nothing less than murder. When it comes time to shut off someones heat, the utility company should be required to notify the department of social services who then should be required to do an on site interview with the affected homeowner and determine a course of action.

Utility companies just pizz me off.

The power company is responsible on this one. What were they thinking when they shut the power off this time of year? Now I just went to the Indiana/Michigan Power website and read the Customer Manual and on page 14 it states that someone will come to the house to disconnect service and that this person will identify themselves and state clearly what they are there for, etc. Now what complete and total MORON that works for this power company did not actually speak to someone at that residence and realize the situation on that house? Did they actually follow procedure at all? This idiot needs to be strapped up by the privates and beaten like a pinata!

Another issue lies in the fact that the system is so hard to work with in Michigan and the red tape involved to get any heating help is ridiculous. Now factor in the age of this VICTIM and also that her daughter is mentally disabled... so even if she tried to get help it would take months to get it.

The fact that this even happened is just ridiculous..

Utility companies continuing price gouging and then wonder why people can't pay the bill..Sad story and prayers with the family involved.
No Soup for Utility or Petroleum companies(aka price scammers) NEXT

I keepreading statements by people that they shut off the HEAT. Actually, they shut off the ELECTRICITY. There is a difference, and it may also make a difference regarding legal requirements. I realize that you need electricity for the furnace to work, but the requirements are likely to be different.

Well I want you all to listen to me and I will tell you that Great Lakes Energy who we get our electicity from has turned us off in the cold months and we have 5 children 11 years old and younger. I find it laughable that people still believe "they won't shut you off if you have kids" or "they won't shut you off if it is winter". That is simply not true by any stretch of the imagination. I have had them knocking and I get to the door an instant too late from taking a nap and they had already disconnected it and look me in the face and tell me SORRY you have to pay the reconnect fee and the entire bill to get it turned back on and drive off. I do want to add we are a family of 7 on one income of around 29,000 dollars a year. I have recently learned like YESTERDAY that if we recive some forms of public assistance like our 98 dollars a month in food stamps we are eligable for some program through Great Lakes that will not cut our power...then I think of the 25 times I have begged and pleaded at the door with Teresa from the electic company to please not shut it off and to say she didn't have time to make it or just leave me a reminder or wait TWO FRICKING DAYS til pay day or ONE DAY and I would pay the entire bill. So I think WHERE AND WHEN AND WHY WAS I NEVER TOLD ABOUT THIS PROGRAM?? Is this something that is new? Let me also say there have been 3 occasions we have went 1-2 days without power. There have also been times I have drove all the way to Wayland after calling them at 8 am to tell them I am on my way to pay the bill and get there and find out it was shut off while I was driving there and they would not turn it back on unless we had the full amount plus the reconnect fee. we lived there for 7 years it wasn't like we were renting and would be leaving in the next 10 minutes and they would never see us again,they knew how hard we stuggled..but the bottom line is not anything to do with humanity it is about money..or 300 dollars owing to a "cooperative" is worth peoples lives. First thing tomorrow morning I will be calling to find out about this phantom program that might keep us connected through the winter. Overall it does not surprise me that this poor woman died in her home with her mentally disabled child at her side it is gruesomely sick and wrong but knowing what I know about this subject is not surprising..rest in peace.

More like Hudsonville, Michigan
Wonder why that thing registers me in every location except where I am from? hmmmmm

BTW
Wanted to add what happened to me a couple of weeks ago with the good ole "cooperative".
I wake up at 10 am to no power Bill was due and past due as usual I owed 219?? or close to that. I calls up Great Lakes Energy and ask her if I am out of power for non payment she tells me yes you are disconnected for non payment..I actually was able to call a good friend of mine from Virginia who said right away tell me the number and I will call and pay it for you and she calls and says she wants to pay this bill for us they tell her it isn't disconnected so she calls me and tells me they say it isnt disconnected,I call back and talk to someone named CAMMIE and this customer service is out of Newaygo Michigan and I inquired why was i told 10 minutes earlier my power was off for non payment and then my friend was told it was not disconnected and she says I have no idea ma'am I said well it just doens't make sense to me that one person tells me 10 minutes apart two different stories she says "ma'am you are in a power outage" I said that still makes no sense as to why I was told it was disconnected and she says "Ma'am I can disconnect your power for you and then take your friends money if that is what you want me to do" I LITERALLY ALMOST DIED. Same great place that albeit late usually get 200 per month from me(on average) for the last 12 years straight(at 3 different homes) and that is how I am treated! REAL NICE..
To add I called her Manager and left a message of what had happened to NEVER GET A CALL BACK.
How "cooperative".< <<that is a joke.

Amy, I don't know if it will help, but I would contact your local representative about this. Send him/her a letter AND telephone them. Send the same letter to television stations, the attorney general ... ANYONE you can think of! This kind of corruption needs to be brought to light. I know how it is to struggle to pay utilities, and if I could personally help you, I would. Utility companies have no heart, and yet big pockets. They ALL need a lesson in how to treat people during hard times.

I forgot I have been a member here for sometime. LOL. So I have signed in now. Wonder where it will say I am from today? Well I have to wonder if there is anyone I could talk to or anything I could do to change anything. But it wouldn't hurt would it? No heart and bigggg pockets is a good way to put it. It just floors me the way we have been treated yet have paid their wages for the 12 years we have had service with them. Thanks for your reply. Amy

This story is just heartbreaking! If the family member knew that this lady was forgetful and had problems paying the bills, then why was she not looked in on? Why didn't someone from the family put someone in charge of her bills and finances?Also, if a social worker was there to give her meds, then obviously she shouldn't have been allowed to be independent. Maybe assisted living? And I agree, the utility companies are heartless. They detach themselves by saying "it's just policy", or "I'm just doing my job". I swear sometimes, the downfall of our economy is all about greed and the almighty dollar!

And Amy, I agree with you about the utility companies. Have been through something similar myself, and when I called them for help I was told to call the Salvation Army or someone who cares! It's worse with the propane companies too. There is no Mich. Public Utilities Comm. who governs them, so they can do and charge whatever they want.

This was so preventable. I feel badly for this woman, but the truth is that there are many more out there like her.

Jan wrote:

I keepreading statements by people that they shut off the HEAT. Actually, they shut off the ELECTRICITY. There is a difference, and it may also make a difference regarding legal requirements. I realize that you need electricity for the furnace to work, but the requirements are likely to be different.

Actually, they shut off the GAS. But even if it is the electric, whats the difference. Either way you have no heat.

Could it have been a combined bill like ours is? But either way, no electricity, no heat and no hot water.

I just wanted to interject with my experience today. I received a letter from great Lakes Energy that my power will be shut off in 3 days from the arrival of the notice. The reason is that my wife had a typo in the electronic payment. I called them and asked if they were actually planning on shutting down the power because of a typo. They told me yes and they give a whole 10 day grace period, which includes the 7 days in the mail. I asked them what would happen if my family of 5 were out of town for the week and Great Lakes Energy responded with the same 10 day grace period garbage. I asked to speak to a supervisor to go over the policy and the danger they can put people in and of course, the supervisor wasn't at her desk. Yavan, a supervisor with Great Lakes did call back and take off the $20.00 processing fee and agreed that the time frame is too short for a typo account with excellent history.
I think that I will bring this to the attention of the local media and see if they would like to touch it. Doubtful since the media is in the pockets of the energy strongholds!! If we don't yell about these things, who will? By the way, it's snowing today. Isn't that a good reason to raise gas prices? Actually, the oil companies are running out of reasons to keep raising prices, so lately it seems like they raise if the weather changes!

I sent this story to CNN.. I hope they expose these monsters. Why is the power company doing the investigation? Shouldn't there be an outside organization doing the investigating? I can't see that there would be any good reason other than greed to shut this womans power off. They should have known that she was 90 years old by the customer profile they had on her. If I was the person that had to shut that womans power off I would have quit my job that day.

We all complain about energy prices but we do not take the time to get together and demand better from our government. We need to remenber that we out number them and raise our standards and expectations. Pray for the family of the victim. R

ok I wanted to touch on this story again. I called Great Lakes Energy and asked Electric Billing customer service and asked her if she knew anything about this winter protection program to not get your electric cut off in the winter months and it only runs from November to March(then in March the entire bill will be due) then I will be back to getting it shut off. Anyway this customer service lady tells me SHE HAS NEVER HEARD OF THIS!!! I tell her I know there is one I read about it in an insert in my bill or there little magazine they mail out. So she says I have to talk to a collection manager who I leave a voice mail for since she only works 2.5 or 3 days a week I can't remember which. but anyway she tells me in fact there is this program YET CUSTOMER SERVICE HAS NEVER HEARD OF IT?? Sounds to me like they reallly don't want anyone to know about it..so the collection lady sends some paper work I have to fill it out and return it and have to pay atleast 116.00 per month on my bill no matter how high it is..so anyone else if you have medicaid or food assistance you can get this program too!!! Wish I would have known about this before...sad sad state of affairs...I also want to research that I seen somewhere about an electric company having to come make a face to face with us before shutting off our electric...they stopped doing that some years ago and they remotly shut it off..and I want to find out if this is legal or not..

She was my neighbor didn't know about it until it was to late me and my wife feel awful about it. Had we known we would have helped but she lived at the other of the street so we only talked to her once a few years before on halloween. My kids talked to her a few times briefly that summer. We didn't know until it was to late.

amy dont know why mine says hopkins instead of vicksburg either I have changed my city in the top right corner still says hopkins when i comment