City of Salem utilities is governed by city ordinances, not the Missouri Public Service Commission. The Salem News reported on some of the Missouri Public Service Commission rules last week, however, the City of Salem, as a municipality, is not bound by the same rules and regulations as for-profit energy providers.
Payment for utility bills sent by the City of Salem must be paid or arrangements made for payment by Thursday to avoid penalties and by 5 p.m. Aug. 5 to avoid disconnect of services, according to the city. The cutoff is the culmination of utility billing issues that have persisted since November of 2019.
The Salem News in a July 8 email to city administrator Ray Walden stated that the shutoff policy had not been made clear and to “please get us the current policy so we don’t use an outdated one.”
Walden provided no such policy.
East Ward Alderman Shawn Bolerjack, chair of the utilities committee, Friday contacted The Salem News with concerns about a story in the July 13 edition that detailed MPSC rules, but do not apply to City of Salem utilities. Bolerjack also provided a copy of a five-page document entitled Salem Municipal Utilities Policy Regulations.
Below are the differences in what was reported about MPSC rules and the City of Salem document sent by Bolerjack:
• MPSC rules state an account holder delinquent in payment must be contacted. It goes on to say a utility company can either mail a notice of disconnect 10 days (excluding weekends and holidays) prior to the disconnect date or provide the notice by personal delivery 96 hours (excluding weekends and holidays) prior to disconnecting utilities.
City of Salem policy states, “Prior to disconnection which the City shall cause to be mailed to the customer at the customer’s last known address, a detailed statement of the amount due to the City with a description of the basis of for the amount due. The statement shall clearly state the date on which the disconnection will occur, but not less than 30 days from the date of mailing if said amount is not paid in full.” The back of the bills have the date of disconnections notice, stating “If bill is not paid by 5 p.m. on the 5th of the following month, services will be disconnected.”
• According to MPSC the utility company has to make a reasonable effort to contact the utility account holder 24 hours before disconnect by making at least two phone calls to the resident or by leaving a door hanger notice.”
Salem Municipal Utilities policy regulations state, “City employees handling cutoffs will knock on the customer’s door and leave a notice and leave a notice indicating to the customer what must be done to reconnect utilities. In the event no one answers the door, the notice may be left in or under the door.
• On the day of the shut-off, the utility provider must make reasonable efforts to contact the customer, provide identification, state the purpose of the visit and post a notice that contains the address and telephone number to contact to have the service restored, according to the MPSC.
The City of Salem regulations say all the city is required to send is the aforementioned statement, sent no less than 30 days from the date of disconnect and the city employee knocking on the customer’s door.
• The MPSC hot-weather rule forbids utilities from disconnecting electrical services when temperatures are projected to be higher than 95 degrees, or the heat index is expected to exceed 100 degrees.
As a municipality, the city is not required to follow this rule. However, according to Bolerjack, the city does follow the hot-weather rule as it is a good practice. “If we don’t have an ordinance on this, we probably need to create one,” he said.
• There are MPSC rules protecting elderly and disabled citizens. A utility provider is required to postpone a shut off for up to 21 days if the shut-off would aggravate an existing medical emergency of the customer, any member of the family or other person that lives in the unit. If requested you must provide the utility provider reasonable evidence of the necessity (e.g., a note from a medical professional).
The Salem News asked Walden if there are any provisions or considerations that the city is making regarding who will and will not be disconnected based upon health and age.
“We are working with all customers to make payment or arrangements to avoid interruption of service for non-payment, including providing information about available assistance from agencies that serve the referenced populations,” Walden responded via email Monday morning.
Other information about utilities and utility cutoff:
If your utilities are disconnected, to get reconnected according to city code 700.010, a utility customer shall pay all delinquent utility charges, plus a service fee, before utility services shall again be provided.
City of Salem does disconnects for non-payment Monday through Thursday to allow those disconnected to reestablish service before the weekend, according to Walden.
The service fee is $25 if reconnection is accomplished during normal working hours (8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday - Friday except on declared city holidays), otherwise the fee is $50. A utility customer with CT metering service who has had utility services disconnected shall pay all delinquent utility charges plus a $100 service fee before utility services shall again be provided.
One way to still get some assistance on bills is through the Missouri Department of Social Services. There are two assistance programs. One is Energy Assistance that helps you with a one-time payment for your primary heating bills from November through March. Another is called the Energy Crisis Intervention Program, which helps pay your energy bill when your energy is shut off, or is threatened to be shut off, even if you have not received a shut off notice. The amount of help you receive is based on the amount of money needed to settle your crisis with the energy provider. For winter months (November - May) ECIP has up to $800 available, and in summer months (June - October) up to $600. You can go to the Social Services website (https://mydss.mo.gov/energy-assistance) to get more specific information.
