16 Utilities Raised $ 1.2 Billion in COVID Aid While Continuing Power Shutdowns: Report

Diving letter:

• 16 utilities received $ 1.25 billion in tax breaks from the government’s Covid-19 economic aid package, the CARES Act, and, according to a. from July 2020 to June 2021 the flow of customers almost 1 million times report published Thursday by the Center for Biodiversity and BailoutWatch.
• NextEra Energy turned off electricity the most frequently, the report concluded, while it received $ 41 million in federal funding. During the pandemic, its subsidiary Florida Power & Light (FPL) shut down the flow of customers more than 470,000 times, according to the report.
• FPL officials say the report’s “blatantly false narrative” omits the work it did to help clients during the pandemic, such as:

Dive Insight:

The utilities sector blasted the report as “misleading” and “insincere”, but other proponents say its conclusions are worth highlighting.

“It is absurd that the authors are misleading readers by trying to compare net operating loss tax policy directly to direct cash aid payments made through the CARES Act,” Brian said Reil, Spokesman for the Edison Electric Institute, said in a statement. The group represents utility companies owned by investors.

The report compiled interrupt counts by reviewing state utility records and calling state commissions. The corporate income tax relief data resulting from the CARES Act comes from filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

“It’s no secret that there is a constant tension between the interests of a for-profit utility and customer service,” said Tyson Slocum, director of Public Citizen’s energy program. The advocacy group was not involved in the report, but said it was “important to point out potential inconsistencies between utility practices and their policies and procedures regarding utility shutdown, particularly in the context of a pandemic”.

“In general, I think there are some important points in the report,” Slocum said.

The $ 2.2 trillion CARES bill, passed in March 2020, offers a wide range of support for businesses, including tax deferrals and refunds that has been a boon to energy companies.

“The authors of this report don’t seem to understand how electricity companies work with their government regulators to help customers in financial difficulties,” said Reil. He also said the CARES bill increased funding to help customers pay energy bills through program states or their nonprofit nonprofits that normally operate.

Utilities don’t deny the number of interruptions, though Reil added that they are “always an electricity company’s last resort for dealing with unpaid bills”.

Six utilities were responsible for more than 90% of the nearly 1 million shutdowns. According to the report, Southern Co. separated approximately 187,000 households while receiving $ 35 million from the CARES bill. Duke Energy shut down nearly 183,000 homes and received $ 633 million from CARES.

“It is appalling that utility companies are cutting electricity on countless families during the pandemic while collecting bailouts from taxpayers,” Jean Su, director of the Center for Biodiversity’s energy justice program, said in a statement.

FPL Officials say the report does not give a clear picture of the disconnections it had suspended for six months in 2020.

“The vast majority of customers who got disconnected for nonpayment were reconnected quickly, most within as little as 24 hours.” FPL This was announced by spokesman Chris McGrath in an email. “FPLs Reconnection rate during COVID-19 is similar to before the pandemic. That’s because we work so closely with our customers. “

Southern Co. declined to comment on this story.

Duke Energy called the report “completely misleading”.

“Nobody did more to help customers during the pandemic. We were one of the first companies to immediately stop disconnections due to unpaid bills and waive credit card and late payment fees, ”Duke spokesman Neil Nissan said in an email.

The utility has also “put in place fully flexible payment plans to ensure customers remain flexible when faced with economic difficulties,” Nissan said, providing more than $ 11 million in local aid.

However, the report’s authors say the report shows that utility company loyalty rests with shareholders.

“From the data we analyzed, it is clear that private utilities prioritize profits and shareholder satisfaction over everything else,” BailoutWatch data analyst Chris Kuveke said in a statement.