Public News Service – A ban on West Virginia utility shutoffs during the pandemic has ended this week, leaving many customers scrambling to pay overdue bills to avoid disconnection. Read full article here.
In March, the West Virginia Public Service Commission had ordered electric, water and gas providers to halt service disconnections, as so many people faced COVID-19-related unemployment. And although the state continues to reopen, Seth DiStefano – policy outreach director with the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy – says the financial burden continues for many households.
“What we’re going to have here is, you know, in addition to skyrocketing food insecurity, you know, in addition to people being worried about just simply putting food on the table,” says DiStefano, “they very well may not have water to boil for dinner, or even wash their hands or do laundry.”