Energy Insecurity in Connecticut: Town Hall Discussion

Transcript

• 00:00<v ->Good afternoon.</v>
• 00:01Thank you all for joining our town hall today.
• 00:04My name is Brenda Watson,
• 00:05Operation Fuel's Executive Director.
• 00:08For over 40 years, Operation Fuel has provided
• 00:12emergency energy utility assistance for those struggling
• 00:15to keep up with the rising cost of energy.
• 00:18In addition to that, we studied energy burden over the years
• 00:21so that we design and structure our programs
• 00:23to meet people where they are
• 00:25as it's critically important that their voices
• 00:27help guide how we structure our programs.
• 00:30We are also in the process of studying water
• 00:33and transportation cost burdens
• 00:35as these issues are all connected.
• 00:37Stay tuned to hear more about that study in the fall.
• 00:41When Dr. Bozzi reached out in August, last August,
• 00:44about a collaboration between Yale
• 00:46and the Vermont Law School,
• 00:48studying energy burden and insecurity in our state,
• 00:51I was of course totally on board.
• 00:54On behalf of the Operation Fuel
• 00:56board of directors and staff,
• 00:58I want to thank Dr. Laura Bozzi,
• 01:01Director of Programs at the Yale Center
• 01:03for Climate Change and Health
• 01:05and faculty advisor on this project.
• 01:07I'd like to thank Erika Kim, Sarah Gledhill, Jhena Vigrass,
• 01:13Epongue Ekile, Kimberley Mashke
• 01:17and Olivia St. Pierre
• 01:19for their hard work and efforts on this project.
• 01:22I'd also like to thank Gannon Long, Kiana Stokes
• 01:25and Tanya Anderson of Operation Fuel
• 01:28for supporting this effort
• 01:29on top of the work they already do every day.
• 01:32And as we dive into this work you'll hear more
• 01:35about the process of planning
• 01:37that these focus groups was involved,
• 01:39the work that was involved in planning these focus groups
• 01:43and that this research study was evaluated
• 01:45and approved by Yale's Institutional Review Board.
• 01:49This approval meant that
• 01:50the study methods were deemed ethical
• 01:52and would not in any way harm participants.
• 01:55Please note that this survey is not being conducted
• 01:58on behalf of any energy supply company.
• 02:00All the information and feedback gathered
• 02:03are the voices of the participants.
• 02:05We look forward to a thoughtful discussion,
• 02:07but what I would love most
• 02:09is turning those thoughts into action.
• 02:12We encourage you to think about
• 02:14how you can hashtag use your power for good
• 02:17and keep the power on for the most vulnerable in our state.
• 02:21From here, I'd like to now turn it over to the students,
• 02:23Jhena, in particular, to take it away.
• 02:30<v ->Actually I will start.</v>
• 02:32So, my name is Epongue Ekile
• 02:34and I'm part of the student team
• 02:35that will be presenting today.
• 02:37And I'll also be the moderator.
• 02:40This slide will show the overview of our agenda for today.
• 02:46If someone could go to that
• 02:48and Brenda already gave an introduction.
• 02:51And so we have collaborated
• 02:54with Operation Fuel this semester
• 02:55to hold focus groups with Connecticut residents
• 02:58to speak about their experiences with energy insecurity.
• 03:01Just a reminder to everyone
• 03:04to please put yourself on mute if not speaking.
• 03:06And also please note that this presentation
• 03:09is being recorded.
• 03:11As questions come up, you can put them in the chat
• 03:13and I will keep an eye on that.
• 03:14As you can see, we will have a pause for questions
• 03:17part way through the presentation
• 03:18and again, at the end of the presentation.
• 03:21When we stop for question and answer,
• 03:23I'll take questions from the chat.
• 03:25And Jhena can start now.
• 03:29<v ->Great, thank you so much Epongue.</v>
• 03:32So thank you all so much for joining us
• 03:34for our presentation today about
• 03:37energy, justice and health in a changing climate.
• 03:40Our team consists of students
• 03:41from the Yale School of the Environment,
• 03:43Yale School of Public Health and Vermont Law School.
• 03:47So today we'll start off with
• 03:49understanding why is energy important?
• 03:52It provides us with a lot of
• 03:53basic essential household services,
• 03:56like cooking, lighting, bathing, cleaning,
• 04:00heating, and cooling our houses
• 04:02and supporting life-sustaining medical devices.
• 04:06Energy insecurity can be defined in a variety of ways,
• 04:09but in the literature it's been defined
• 04:11as the inability to meet these basic household energy needs.
• 04:16And this can be expressed in either affordability of energy
• 04:19or the reliability of having consistent access to energy.
• 04:24Regarding affordability in the literature,
• 04:29it states that residents who spend
• 04:30above 6 to 10% of their income
• 04:33are considered energy burdened.
• 04:36And in Connecticut specifically, we have
• 04:38the highest retail electricity rate in the continental US,
• 04:42which is the price that residents pay for electricity
• 04:45and low income residents in the state
• 04:47can pay up to 26% of their income on household energy bills.
• 04:53We also experience frequent power outages in the state
• 04:56because of our aging power grid
• 04:58and it also being a heavily forested state.
• 05:03So our study aimed to focus on these issues in Connecticut
• 05:06and to hear residents stories
• 05:08and experiences with energy insecurity,
• 05:10as well as their thoughts on how to move forward
• 05:12and potential policy solutions.
• 05:15As a joint undertaking between Vermont Law School
• 05:19and Yale School of Public Health and Operation Fuel,
• 05:22we hope to bring these residents voices
• 05:24and lived experiences into the conversation
• 05:26around energy insecurity in Connecticut.
• 05:29Right, next slide please.
• 05:33So just an overview of the demographics of our participants.
• 05:36Over the course of about a month,
• 05:38we conducted 10 focus groups with 22 participants in total.
• 05:43Our participants ranged in age from 31 to 71,
• 05:47and about 30% reported that
• 05:49they do not have any air conditioning.
• 05:52The majority of our participants
• 05:54used electric or gas for their heating
• 05:57with about a quarter using oil.
• 05:59And while the majority of our participants
• 06:01lived in New Haven,
• 06:03we did interview residents from West Hartford,
• 06:06Berlin, Fairfield, East Haven,
• 06:08Stonington, Hamden and Windham.
• 06:11And finally, about two thirds
• 06:13of our participants identified as Black
• 06:15about a quarter of our participants identified as White
• 06:18and 14% identified as Hispanic, Latinx.
• 06:22And now I will hand it off to my colleague, Erika,
• 06:25to go through our methods.
• 06:34<v ->Okay, I'm unmuted now.</v>
• 06:35Thank you, Jhena.
• 06:36I will now be talking about our project methodology
• 06:39and kind of what we did for this study.
• 06:41So, like Brenda mentioned in the beginning,
• 06:44our study was reviewed and approved by the IRB at Yale.
• 06:49So it was deemed an ethical and safe study.
• 06:52Partnering with our community partners at Operation Fuel,
• 06:55as well as some community liaison partners
• 06:58throughout the state of Connecticut.
• 07:00We worked to recruit participants
• 07:01throughout the state to participate
• 07:04in a series of focus groups about energy costs.
• 07:07And so, because our project was rooted
• 07:09in community-based research principles,
• 07:11we often conferred with Operation Fuel
• 07:14throughout the study design
• 07:16to obtain feedback, guidance and input,
• 07:18kind of every step of the way of what we were doing.
• 07:20And that's what's demonstrated
• 07:22via the flow chart on the right-hand side.
• 07:25Our focus group questions explored three main topics.
• 07:28So, perspective surrounding energy insecurity,
• 07:31knowledge of energy assistance programs,
• 07:33kind of what exists out there,
• 07:35whether or not people have utilized these programs,
• 07:38things like that.
• 07:39And then also knowledge about weatherization
• 07:41and energy-efficiency solutions.
• 07:44And after we conducted these focus groups,
• 07:46we took the transcripts.
• 07:48So everything that was said during these focus groups
• 07:50and we analyzed them and we created,
• 07:54we identified major themes in those transcripts
• 07:57and those became what we call key domains.
• 08:00And so, our key domains that we'll be talking about
• 08:04in the following slides are health factors,
• 08:06social dynamics, financial strategies and coping mechanisms,
• 08:10environmental factors and building concerns
• 08:12and assistance channels and accessibility.
• 08:15And with that, I will pass it on to my colleague, Olivia.
• 08:22<v ->Hi everyone.</v>
• 08:23So I'm gonna share some general findings
• 08:26about the health factors.
• 08:29So to start us off, we found a general finding
• 08:33that participants with medical vulnerability
• 08:36experienced a higher burden
• 08:37when navigating energy insecurity.
• 08:39Many of the participants shared the sentiment
• 08:42that access to reliable and affordable energy
• 08:44should be universally accessible, and protected,
• 08:48regardless of whether one has a medical condition or not.
• 08:51And participants shared that in general,
• 08:53their reliance on refrigeration
• 08:55impacts their nutritional choices, their health,
• 08:59and several participants shared that
• 09:01they require refrigeration to store medications
• 09:04and specially-prescribed diets.
• 09:09You can go to the next slide, thank you.
• 09:12We also found that folks with medical conditions
• 09:15are especially vulnerable to shutoffs
• 09:17and extreme weather events
• 09:19because they rely on electricity
• 09:21to regulate the temperature in their homes
• 09:23for management of a medical condition,
• 09:26and often rely on it for medical devices
• 09:29like nebulizers, CPAP machines,
• 09:31oxygen and cardiac monitoring.
• 09:35And the utility companies do offer,
• 09:38you can stay on that last slide.
• 09:39The utility companies do offer protections
• 09:42from shutoff in limited cases of serious illness
• 09:45and life-threatening conditions when documented,
• 09:49but participants shared frustrations
• 09:51with the limitations of these structural safeguards.
• 09:55They also expressed frustrations
• 09:58with navigating the paperwork
• 10:01associated with the protections
• 10:02if they're not regularly seen by a primary physician.
• 10:06Next slide.
• 10:10We also found that health factors,
• 10:15financial stress and shutoffs
• 10:18compound anxiety and mental health.
• 10:21So participants shared that the stress of high bills
• 10:23also manifests through physical sickness.
• 10:26Additionally, high energy cost burdens
• 10:29lead participants to having to make difficult decisions
• 10:32between health and electricity.
• 10:34So this includes choosing to visit the doctors less,
• 10:38struggling to keep a vehicle as a handicapped person,
• 10:41who relies on transportation for medical needs,
• 10:44and choosing not to purchase certain medications
• 10:46or medical equipments in order
• 10:48to prioritize paying the energy bill.
• 10:51So this quote on the side here says,
• 10:54"Facing high bills is anxiety inducing. It just is.
• 10:58It makes me sick. I'm considering
• 11:00just living in the dark for some months."
• 11:02And then another participant said,
• 11:04"It stresses me out. I lose sleep
• 11:06because I'm worrying about
• 11:07how I'm going to pay for these lights and gas.
• 11:10It's scary because once you've had
• 11:11your lights turned out once before,
• 11:13that's what you're looking forward to again,
• 11:15if you don't pay the lights."
• 11:17Next slide.
• 11:22One of the next domains
• 11:24that we explored was social dynamics.
• 11:27So, we found that one's navigation
• 11:30of familial, residential, social and faith relationships
• 11:34may all impact experiences with energy insecurity.
• 11:38Even if assistance is accessible,
• 11:40a sense of pride, embarrassment and awareness
• 11:43of stigmas tied to poverty and disability
• 11:45can be an obstacle for seeking help
• 11:48or talking openly about their experiences
• 11:51with energy insecurity.
• 11:53Participants also reported feeling shame and stigma
• 11:57around not being able to pay energy bills.
• 11:59Parents specifically expressed a difficulty
• 12:02in navigating conversations
• 12:04about energy insecurity with their children.
• 12:06And participants in general, also shared worries
• 12:09about being a burden on their family
• 12:10when needing to rely on family for assistance.
• 12:14Our participants also resonated with feelings of isolation
• 12:18throughout the COVID-19 pandemic
• 12:20and shared that during hard times,
• 12:22whether that's due to shut off,
• 12:24extreme weather events or pandemic
• 12:26that their neighbors and landlords
• 12:27made their residential communities either better or worse
• 12:33and definitely impacted their perception
• 12:35of feeling supported.
• 12:37So, there's some quotes on the side there
• 12:42about living in shutoff and extreme weather events.
• 12:46And I have one more that I'd like to read out loud,
• 12:49which is what one participant shared,
• 12:52"Luckily I had my mother to help me out,
• 12:54but it's still very stressful having to rely on people,
• 12:57having to live in the dark,
• 12:59having to explain to your child
• 13:00why you're living in the dark and it stays with you.
• 13:03I think I made a vow of myself back then
• 13:05that I was never gonna let myself
• 13:06get in that situation again
• 13:08and knock on wood I've kept that."
• 13:10And I will pass it back to Epongue, our moderator.
• 13:16<v ->Great. Thank you, Olivia.</v>
• 13:18Thanks to everyone who's presented so far.
• 13:20So, we have a lot of information today.
• 13:23So we wanted to pause here for questions
• 13:25for about 10 minutes before we finish the presentation.
• 13:29After this break, we'll present on financial strategies,
• 13:33coping mechanisms, environmental factors,
• 13:36building maintenance concerns and assistance channels.
• 13:39So please feel free to add your question in the chat now.
• 14:38Okay, so we have a question.
• 14:41Did we have people with limited English
• 14:43in our focus groups?
• 14:46If anyone from the team wants to answer that.
• 14:56<v ->So we did have the ability to do focus groups in Spanish,</v>
• 15:00but we didn't get any interest in that.
• 15:05So all the focus groups were conducting in English.
• 15:11<v ->"Did individuals find that fuel assistance</v>
• 15:14relieved or added stress around the issue of shame?"
• 15:23A very good question.
• 15:24If anyone else wants to answer.
• 15:29<v ->I can take a first pass at that.</v>
• 15:31And then if any of my colleagues have anything to add,
• 15:34please feel free.
• 15:35So, my sense from the focus groups
• 15:38that I participated in was that
• 15:40receiving assistance did add a bit
• 15:44to the feeling of shame and stress,
• 15:46especially if people were receiving assistance
• 15:48from family members or some also said
• 15:52that they essentially borrowed from their themselves.
• 15:55So, like taking loans from their
• 15:59own savings or retirement accounts.
• 16:01And so, there was this sense of
• 16:04needing to pay themselves back
• 16:06or needing to pay family members back
• 16:09or community members back and feeling a sense
• 16:12of stress around that experience.
• 16:24<v ->Yeah, I think that pretty much sums it up for all of us</v>
• 16:27that participated in the focus groups.
• 16:33"How were the focus groups designed?"
• 16:36I think, Erika, you can answer that.
• 16:40<v ->Sure, yeah.</v>
• 16:41So, in terms of how we designed the focus group questions,
• 16:45so what we were going to ask and base our focus groups on,
• 16:49this project has been an ongoing thing for the past year.
• 16:54So prior to, just when we started these in February.
• 16:58What was done by our energy justice team last year was
• 17:05we conducted like a literature review.
• 17:07So we looked for all existing pieces of research
• 17:12or other forms of literature
• 17:14that looked at energy insecurity in Connecticut.
• 17:18What the team found was that there is not much
• 17:21and what the team basically concluded
• 17:23is that there is a really strong need for us
• 17:26to actually go out and ask people
• 17:28about their experiences with paying
• 17:30for energy bills in this state.
• 17:33And so, that literature review is kind of
• 17:35what informed the questions we decided to ask.
• 17:37And the three major topic areas that we decided to focus on.
• 17:41And as for conducting the focus groups in general,
• 17:45so we spent a bit of time making connections
• 17:49with different community liaisons throughout the state
• 17:52who kind of had their own little social networks.
• 17:55And through those networks, we recruited our participants.
• 18:00So we aimed to recruit a bunch of people
• 18:02from different communities, urban,
• 18:04suburban and rural throughout the state.
• 18:08And that's kind of how we got
• 18:09into contact with our participants.
• 18:16<v ->Great, next question.</v>
• 18:20"Is there a one-stop or go-to list
• 18:24of energy, water assistance resources
• 18:26in English and in Spanish that could be available
• 18:29and are all of the state's health departments
• 18:33aware and involved?"
• 18:39<v ->I can also take a first stab at this.</v>
• 18:41So, from our understanding,
• 18:44there is not a one-stop, go-to list.
• 18:48We know that that would be really helpful.
• 18:50And that was one of our goals
• 18:51for this project for this semester.
• 18:53Unfortunately, I don't think
• 18:55we have the time to put that together,
• 18:57but potentially, this project will continue
• 19:00over the summer a bit.
• 19:01And so, the person who will take that on
• 19:03may be able to work on it.
• 19:05But that has seemed like a major need for this area,
• 19:10but also requires a lot of maintenance.
• 19:12So, just to make sure that the list is up to date.
• 19:16And so, it does require
• 19:19staff time and funding to maintain that,
• 19:23which obviously is difficult in this area.
• 19:26And then the health departments,
• 19:29I'm not sure if they are coordinated
• 19:33and I'm not sure if Brenda or Gannon from Operation Fuel
• 19:37would want to answer that question.
• 19:42<v ->Hi, Brenda here, as far as health departments go,</v>
• 19:45I am unsure of their awareness around these issues.
• 19:49I do know that DSS is the administrator
• 19:51of the state's energy assistance program.
• 19:54So they're aware.
• 19:56And the Department of DCF,
• 20:00Department of Children and Families,
• 20:02they actually have a program
• 20:05in which if they are interacting with a family
• 20:08who's struggling with energy burden,
• 20:10they have funding set aside that will help pay down a bill
• 20:15or make a delivery of oil or other types of fuel
• 20:20if that would help that family avoid a situation
• 20:23where the child needs to be removed.
• 20:25I also, one other piece, not necessarily health departments,
• 20:30but Hartford Hospital in particular,
• 20:33they have social workers on staff
• 20:35and they're aware of Operation Fuel.
• 20:38They're probably aware of
• 20:39the state's energy assistance program as well.
• 20:42And they do try to connect families
• 20:44who are discharging from the hospital,
• 20:47if there's a vulnerable family member in the home,
• 20:53and there's no power in the home.
• 20:54They will try to connect that family
• 20:58with one of the programs or perhaps even both,
• 21:03Operation Fuel and the state's energy assistance.
• 21:10<v ->Great, I think there's another question later in the chat</v>
• 21:14that is kind related to this for the resource list,
• 21:17are the utility support supposed to supply this
• 21:20or should the EnergizeCT website should that be updated?
• 21:34<v ->I think, yes.</v>
• 21:39I think websites should be updated perhaps all the time.
• 21:45This environment is constantly changing.
• 21:47Program dates are constantly changing
• 21:50and requirements change.
• 21:52So, anytime you can utilize your resource,
• 21:57which is a website to update folks on programs
• 22:02that are available to them, then yes,
• 22:04the EnergizeCT website could use a bit of a makeover
• 22:09to address these issues,
• 22:10and inform people of the programs that are available.
• 22:17<v ->And if I could just add to that.</v>
• 22:18Thank you to Stephanie Cohan from Connecticut PURA,
• 22:22the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority.
• 22:23And she's put in the chat, a website that does lay out
• 22:27some of the utility assistance programs available to folks.
• 22:31So, folks can see that in the chat as well.
• 22:38<v ->Great, you can answer a few more questions.</v>
• 22:42Let's see.
• 22:49"Was there anyone on our team
• 22:51that have experienced some of these hardships
• 22:53and could therefore relate to the residents?"
• 22:59<v ->I'm happy to take a stab at this answer.</v>
• 23:03So, I'm not from Connecticut originally.
• 23:07In terms of electricity costs, I come from the state
• 23:11that has, I think, the highest residential electricity costs
• 23:15in the nation, which is Hawaii.
• 23:17And so, for all my life, like my family's utility bills
• 23:21our electricity bills were like
• 23:22hundreds and hundreds of dollars every single month.
• 23:25And my family was just in like mounds of debt,
• 23:27my whole life because of this.
• 23:29And so, when we were listening in these focus groups
• 23:32to our participants talk about their experiences,
• 23:34not only paying for electricity,
• 23:36but also heat, gas, things like that,
• 23:38and it all adding up.
• 23:40Yeah, I was definitely able to relate
• 23:43and I have never used,
• 23:47had to use gas or heat
• 23:48coming from a tropical environment it's hot there,
• 23:51so we don't need heat.
• 23:52And so, that was like another perspective
• 23:55that I just didn't even know about.
• 23:59And it was a great experience and really emotional,
• 24:02like being able to listen to these experiences.
• 24:10<v ->Great.</v>
• 24:14All right, I think we can move on.
• 24:16There are a lot of questions still in the chat
• 24:19and we will try to get through all of them
• 24:23towards the end of the presentation,
• 24:25but thank you to everyone who's submitted a question.
• 24:32All right so, I'll pass it on to Kim
• 24:35for financial strategies and coping mechanisms.
• 24:40<v ->Yeah thanks, Epongue.</v>
• 24:41So, our next category we'd like to discuss,
• 24:45is financial strategies and coping mechanisms,
• 24:47which essentially covers the various strategic approaches
• 24:50that our participants took in order
• 24:52to make ends meet directly with energy costs
• 24:55as well as to balance energy costs
• 24:57in the greater scheme of financial constraints.
• 25:00So our participants are extremely aware of and concerned
• 25:04about how much energy they use at all times.
• 25:06And they are constantly going out of their way
• 25:08to reduce their consumption.
• 25:10So many have developed a habit of unplugging
• 25:13as many appliances as possible.
• 25:15And some also avoid transportation as much as possible
• 25:18and many avoid using energy during peak times
• 25:21during the evening.
• 25:22And often cook during off peak hours
• 25:24or minimize their comfort
• 25:25by going the entire day without heat.
• 25:29Paying for energy costs often affects
• 25:31our participant's ability to afford other bills
• 25:34and build up any sort of savings.
• 25:37So some are unable to save for retirement,
• 25:39while others are unable to afford more immediate
• 25:42and urgent costs such as doctor's visits,
• 25:44rent or other utility bills.
• 25:48Sometimes known as heat or eat.
• 25:50Some participants were very transparent
• 25:52about sharing very challenging experiences,
• 25:55being faced with a choice to purchase food
• 25:58or pay for energy as illustrated by the top quote,
• 26:01on the right-hand side of the slide.
• 26:03Some sought out stores with cheaper prices
• 26:05or supplemented with multiple food banks.
• 26:08And one participant who had a young child,
• 26:10ultimately chose to pay for the energy bill one month
• 26:13instead of buying groceries.
• 26:17Participants often feel on the edge of debt
• 26:21in balancing so many costs at once.
• 26:23Some feel vulnerable to sudden budget increases.
• 26:26So for example, a homeowner was concerned
• 26:28about property tax increases,
• 26:30and one renter spoke to a particularly
• 26:32financially strained time
• 26:34when her oldest child was heading to college
• 26:36and she also needed to pay for transportation
• 26:39to visit another child
• 26:40who was incarcerated at the time as well.
• 26:44And mistrust of the utility was often a strong sentiment
• 26:47expressed by multiple people
• 26:49as demonstrated by the bottom quote
• 26:50on the right-hand side of the slide.
• 26:52For some, it is very difficult to comprehend
• 26:55how successful utility businesses
• 26:58that provides such essential services as energy
• 27:01could possibly need to charge
• 27:02such unaffordable bills to consumers.
• 27:05And why regularly putting an active effort
• 27:07towards limiting consumption doesn't seem to successfully
• 27:11lower the bill amount for our participants.
• 27:14Next slide please.
• 27:18So the environmental factors category specifically covers
• 27:21our participants' experiences related to season and weather.
• 27:25Hazardous temperatures during
• 27:26both summer and winter caused discomfort.
• 27:29Temperatures also often directly related to health.
• 27:32And a few people spoke to air conditioning
• 27:34as an essential resource for managing asthma.
• 27:37And one person mentioned taking a medication
• 27:39that causes temperature sensitivity,
• 27:41and therefore requires a temperature-controlled
• 27:44living environment.
• 27:45One participant spoke to feeling
• 27:47like coping strategies were a lose/lose situation.
• 27:50And during the summer she opened the blinds
• 27:52in order to avoid using electricity during the day.
• 27:55But having the blinds open caused the room to heat up,
• 27:58which created a need for air conditioning.
• 28:02Anticipation of power outages from severe weather events
• 28:05or other interruptions is stressful,
• 28:07especially because the ability to store perishable food
• 28:11is dependent on electricity for refrigeration.
• 28:14Food spoilage can be a disaster
• 28:15for people in these scenarios
• 28:17because food costs money and people
• 28:19do not always have the flexibility in their budgets
• 28:21to replace that spoiled food.
• 28:25So now I'll hand it off to my colleague, Sarah,
• 28:27to address building maintenance concerns.
• 28:32<v ->Thanks Kim.</v>
• 28:33So, we asked participants in the focus groups
• 28:37about the condition of there homes
• 28:38and we heard a lot of horror stories.
• 28:41(indistinct)
• 29:16<v ->Hi, seems that we're experiencing</v>
• 29:18some technical difficulties or is it just me?
• 29:24<v ->Can you, we might be.</v>
• 29:25So I'll just jump in for Sarah here.
• 29:27So, she started to mention that we heard some horror stories
• 29:31about building maintenance concerns.
• 29:33So for example, one participant shared,
• 29:35"My landlord told me when the ceiling
• 29:37was falling down on me to move out,
• 29:39he wasn't fixing it.
• 29:40I've been told to move out or shut up, basically.
• 29:43They don't do anything about the problem."
• 29:46The majority of participants are renters,
• 29:48so they have to go through their landlords
• 29:50for any maintenance issues.
• 29:52We heard some stories of living conditions,
• 29:54being uncomfortably cold,
• 29:56unable to get adequate heat in the winter
• 29:58due to lack of insulation and air ceiling
• 30:01or too hot because of the cost
• 30:05of air conditioning being so high.
• 30:08The quote here at the top describes.
• 30:10"The utilities were definitely more expensive...
• 30:13and I used them way less than the other places
• 30:15because it was just so drafty.
• 30:18It was like there was almost no point
• 30:20in putting the heat on because it didn't stay."
• 30:26We heard about carbon monoxide leaks, mold,
• 30:29water leaks and generally that landlords
• 30:31respond very slowly if at all to these concerns.
• 30:34Homeowners on the other hand,
• 30:35which were only a handful, were concerned about
• 30:38not having enough money to pay for upgrades.
• 30:41So if a furnace goes out or something breaks,
• 30:43the homeowners who participated
• 30:45are not able to afford those upgrades.
• 30:47One even discussed selling their home
• 30:50due to the financial stress.
• 30:54<v ->Hi, can you guys hear me?</v>
• 30:57<v ->Yes, you're back.</v>
• 30:58<v ->Okay, I'm back.</v>
• 30:59Sorry about that.
• 31:01I'll try this again.
• 31:02You can go to the next slide.
• 31:05So, the last theme to talk about is access to assistance.
• 31:11So, we don't have time to go over
• 31:13all the various assistance programs
• 31:14because I wanna focus on
• 31:16the participant experience with assistance.
• 31:19Generally, participants found
• 31:21the application processes to be difficult.
• 31:24So whether we're talking about bill assistance,
• 31:26medical protection, winter protection or something else,
• 31:29participants have a really hard time applying for help.
• 31:32There aren't enough locations to apply.
• 31:35Applications are long and complicated.
• 31:37They don't hear back for extended periods of time
• 31:40after their applications are sent in
• 31:42and they have to spend a significant amount
• 31:44of time and money applying.
• 31:46In addition, the outreach is not great.
• 31:49Most people hear about these programs through word of mouth,
• 31:52rather than through good marketing.
• 31:54Once participants do access a form of assistance,
• 31:58at times the payments are still not affordable.
• 32:01For energy efficiency through home energy solutions,
• 32:04if the fee team finds a carbon monoxide leak or mold,
• 32:08they will stop work,
• 32:09which prevents participants from getting upgrades.
• 32:13And you can go to the next slide.
• 32:17So, lastly participants talked a lot about
• 32:20how customer or client service is not great.
• 32:23So, whether it's the utility or community action agency,
• 32:27participants have talked to staff
• 32:28who are not necessarily well trained
• 32:31on the assistance programs available.
• 32:33So customer service at the utility
• 32:35sometimes fails to record the conversation.
• 32:38So every time the participant calls,
• 32:40they have to start over.
• 32:41In addition, there's lack of representation
• 32:43in utilities and community action agencies.
• 32:46So, participants discussed
• 32:48how the representatives they talked to
• 32:50rarely look like them or have been through
• 32:52what they're going through.
• 32:53On a related note, when applying for assistance,
• 32:56participants find the questioning to be invasive.
• 32:59So one participant was asked about
• 33:01the income of their neighbors and roommates
• 33:03in order to access weatherization.
• 33:05Another participant was asked about
• 33:07the income and criminal history of an ex-partner,
• 33:09who she no longer even had contact with.
• 33:12So neither of these participants
• 33:13continued with the process of getting assistance.
• 33:17Generally, we had participants
• 33:19who didn't feel respected when they asked for assistance.
• 33:22Some had negative experiences
• 33:23say 15, 20 years ago,
• 33:26and they haven't come back since.
• 33:28And others had really recent experiences
• 33:30with intrusive questioning.
• 33:32I'll point out the powerful quote to the right here
• 33:34and invite you to read it.
• 33:37This goes to show that negative experiences
• 33:39can stick in someone's memory for many years.
• 33:42And then, the last point here, when asked about
• 33:45energy efficiency or renewable energy,
• 33:47participants didn't find these solutions
• 33:49to be accessible to them.
• 33:50Being mostly renters, they have trouble
• 33:52with their landlords investing in these technologies.
• 33:55When trying to participate in a program,
• 33:58participants explained how mold or carbon monoxide
• 34:00or complicated applications
• 34:02halt any effort for energy efficiency.
• 34:07Homeowners feel that they can't afford energy efficiency
• 34:10or renewable energy retrofits.
• 34:12So now I'll turn it back over to Epongue
• 34:14to discuss participant suggestions.
• 34:19<v ->Yes so, another very important aspect</v>
• 34:22of our focus groups is asking participants
• 34:25for their own policy recommendations or suggestions
• 34:29for how to make their lives easier regarding energy burden.
• 34:35One practical solution was that
• 34:36landlords should be required to install
• 34:38heat pumps and efficient appliances
• 34:40when technology needs to be replaced.
• 34:43A lot of participants expressed interest
• 34:47and moving towards more energy-efficient appliances,
• 34:52but because they're renters
• 34:54didn't have the means to do that.
• 34:57Another was that energy companies
• 34:59should hire community members
• 35:00that have the personality to communicate personalized advice
• 35:04and solutions to people with empathy.
• 35:09Another participant suggested that
• 35:10utilities move the application opening date
• 35:14for winter protection up to allow for more time,
• 35:17as well as creating drop boxes and email addresses
• 35:20that are checked more regularly
• 35:22to better facilitate the application process.
• 35:25Another recommendation made by multiple participants,
• 35:28regarded marketing and outreach.
• 35:30They suggested that schools be a medium
• 35:34through which information can be shared,
• 35:36including about energy assistance programs.
• 35:39They said that their children were old enough
• 35:41to bring home flyers and information packets.
• 35:45Other financial-related recommendations
• 35:47were that the price of energy should be based on income
• 35:50and that the income threshold should be increased
• 35:53for income threshold for assistance should be increased
• 35:56along with the addition of a transition period
• 35:58for all assistance programs,
• 36:00including food stamps and others.
• 36:02Overall, the majority of recommendations
• 36:05were made based in community.
• 36:07Utilization of existing community networks
• 36:10might be key to spreading the word
• 36:12about energy assistance programs
• 36:14and other avenues of assistance.
• 36:17While having conversations with participants
• 36:19and hearing their stories,
• 36:21it became very apparent to us that
• 36:23the issues they were voicing were much more
• 36:25than just about energy insecurity.
• 36:27All of their hardships had crosscutting themes
• 36:29in health and equity or inequity.
• 36:32Outages and shutoffs can lead to health problems
• 36:34regarding safe food consumption or temperature management.
• 36:38Issues with landlords, partly stem from
• 36:40the helplessness they felt about
• 36:42needing a roof over their heads.
• 36:44Because of these themes, it can be argued that
• 36:46tackling energy insecurity is about
• 36:48much more than just energy
• 36:50and has everything to do with problems within the system,
• 36:53especially poverty and lack of equitable opportunity.
• 36:57Basic needs should come first.
• 36:59Part of which includes affordable energy.
• 37:01It was apparent that many participants
• 37:03weren't able to fulfill many of their basic needs
• 37:06due to high energy costs
• 37:08and felt like they were not supported by energy companies.
• 37:12However, during these focus groups,
• 37:14while hearing each other's stories,
• 37:15a lot of participants opted
• 37:17to share their contact information with each other
• 37:20in order to provide help and insight to whoever need it.
• 37:25And this was a glimpse into the community-based solutions
• 37:27that some participants recommended and might be adopted.
• 37:33So, that is the end of our presentation.
• 37:36Thank you to the team.
• 37:39Before someone asks, we are planning to send the slides
• 37:41in the draft report out to everyone who registered today.
• 37:44So please keep an eye out for that email.
• 37:47We are also linking a survey.
• 37:49So if you could please take a moment
• 37:50to let us know your thoughts.
• 37:53Here are our acknowledgements.
• 37:54We obviously thank Operation Fuel
• 37:58and the names listed there for all their guidance.
• 38:03Definitely big thank you to Dr. Bozzi for her guidance
• 38:07and help throughout the last few months.
• 38:10I mean, thank you to our whole team.
• 38:13Thank you to the SNF Fund
• 38:15for the Integration of Theory and Practice
• 38:18for funding for this project.
• 38:19And most of all, thank you for our participants
• 38:25for sharing their stories.
• 38:27So, we'll continue with questions
• 38:30and discussion if you'd like.
• 38:32So please put questions into the chat
• 38:34and we'll keep answering the questions
• 38:36that are already there.
• 38:39Thank you.
• 38:42<v ->And I received a message to show our team slides again.</v>
• 38:45So I'm gonna go back to our team really quickly.
• 38:56<v Brenda Watson>I don't have a question necessarily.</v>
• 38:58I just wanted to share.
• 39:00This is Brenda Watson again.
• 39:02How I am impressed with the work
• 39:05that you all have done this semester
• 39:08and you shed light on a part of the energy story
• 39:12that we often do not hear.
• 39:14And we certainly do not plan for
• 39:17in terms of high-level planning
• 39:21on the state and utility side.
• 39:24I'm hoping that folks take the information
• 39:28that they've learned today
• 39:29and consider making adjustments to their current programs.
• 39:33I'm also really quite touched
• 39:34that the participants have decided to keep in touch.
• 39:38Clearly, this was a process that bonded them.
• 39:41And I want to thank you all and thank our participants
• 39:44for being brave enough to share their stories
• 39:47and you all providing them with the safe space to do that.
• 40:12<v ->Okay.</v>
• 40:14Going back to some of the questions
• 40:15that were asked earlier,
• 40:19"Did you find that the people you spoke with
• 40:21were knowledgeable of all the programs
• 40:23that are out there or were they limited
• 40:26by access to programs or wifi computers, et cetera?"
• 40:36One of the team wants to answer that?
• 40:47<v ->I'd be happy to start this answer</v>
• 40:48and I'm sure someone on the team will have something to add.
• 40:53In the focus groups that I attended and moderated,
• 40:58there was always one to two people
• 40:59who had kind of an extensive knowledge
• 41:03of available assistance programs
• 41:04and kind of how it worked was
• 41:06as the rest of the group were sharing their stories
• 41:09and their experiences kind of
• 41:10with paying for energy costs.
• 41:12It was those one to two people who would kind of step in
• 41:15and be like, hey, have you heard of this program?
• 41:16Have you heard of this program?
• 41:18You should look this up.
• 41:20And so, that was kind of my experience.
• 41:23And I thought that was really cool.
• 41:26I think on average, there was not
• 41:28a great amount of knowledge about existing programs.
• 41:31But those few people in every focus group,
• 41:36kind of left everyone being more informed by the end of it.
• 41:58<v ->Great, another question was,</v>
• 42:03"Did anyone express that they tried to reach out
• 42:07to the utility company for help
• 42:08such as payment plans or extensions?"
• 42:13<v ->I can speak to that one.</v>
• 42:17Yeah, I mean, people talked a lot about
• 42:19how they would try to reach out to the utility.
• 42:22A couple people had positive experiences,
• 42:24but overwhelmingly the experiences
• 42:26with the utility customer service were quite negative.
• 42:30The feeling was that they had to start over
• 42:32every time they called
• 42:33and talked to a different representative.
• 42:35And sometimes the customer service agents
• 42:38weren't well trained on the assistance programs available.
• 42:53<v ->Great, another question,</v>
• 42:55"What types of information do applicants need
• 42:58to provide to heating assistance programs?
• 43:01Do utilities provide cooling assistance?"
• 43:09<v ->I can answer that in terms of Operation Fuel.</v>
• 43:11We require income statements
• 43:15and copy of the utility bill.
• 43:18In terms of cooling assistance,
• 43:21so our program runs two seasons, summer, fall,
• 43:25which start in July and end in October or November,
• 43:30depending on the conditions.
• 43:33And then we start over again in
• 43:39December through the end of May.
• 43:42We do sometimes try to extend
• 43:45our program season if we can.
• 43:48Again, based on the conditions,
• 43:50which include our funding resources,
• 43:53outside temperature and frequency of applications.
• 43:57If we don't see a slowdown,
• 44:00then we do our best to stay open a lot longer.
• 44:03So our program offers assistance
• 44:06with all home energy sources,
• 44:08which include electric and gas utilities
• 44:12and all fuel sources as well as water utility assistance.
• 44:15So the electric assistance is part of that cooling support,
• 44:20but I don't know the schedule
• 44:25or all of the guidelines regarding
• 44:28the state's energy assistance program.
• 44:30I wouldn't wanna answer on that on their behalf
• 44:33and get any information wrong.
• 44:39<v ->Great, another question.</v>
• 44:41"Do we have a sense of how much waste
• 44:44in medications, food, et cetera occurred with this group
• 44:47and the corresponding estimate of money lost?
• 44:52Did they express any indication of
• 44:54how significant the loss of medications,
• 44:56especially insulin was
• 45:00or such as did they stop taking insulin
• 45:03because it was not available or was wasted?"
• 45:16<v ->That is a great question.</v>
• 45:19I'll take a first stab at it.
• 45:20So, the focus groups that I participated in
• 45:24did not have experience with anxieties
• 45:27around losing medicine,
• 45:31but they did have a lot of anxiety around losing their food,
• 45:35especially with COVID,
• 45:37especially in the beginning period of COVID,
• 45:39where people were really stocking up on food
• 45:42and really filling their fridge
• 45:44with as much food as they could.
• 45:45So they could minimize their trips to the grocery store
• 45:49to hopefully support their own health.
• 45:53But because of that, they were really worried
• 45:55about potential power outages in the summer.
• 45:58And that they had just stocked their fridge
• 46:01full of foods that they could minimize
• 46:03going to the grocery store,
• 46:04but what if their power went out
• 46:06and they lost all of that food that was in their fridge.
• 46:09And that would've been a significant
• 46:13negative financial impact for them
• 46:15because they had really spent a lot of money on that food
• 46:18and were counting on having that food to eat.
• 46:21And so that would've been, I assume,
• 46:24hundreds of dollars that they would've lost.
• 46:27And so, that was definitely a significant concern.
• 46:32I didn't hear anything about insulin,
• 46:33but I don't know if any of my teammates
• 46:35have anything to add.
• 46:54<v ->I will quickly just add one thing.</v>
• 46:55This is not related to medication or insulin.
• 46:57It's more so related to food.
• 46:59In my focus groups, it was something I remember
• 47:02one of my participants talking about was
• 47:04not attaching a specific dollar amount
• 47:07to how much was lost during something
• 47:09like a shutoff or a power outage,
• 47:11but more so that they have
• 47:13like a set budget of how much they spend,
• 47:16like per week or per month on things
• 47:18like groceries, food, et cetera.
• 47:20And when something like this happens,
• 47:22when their electricity goes off
• 47:24and the refrigerator stops working,
• 47:26that week's budget of food is gone.
• 47:29And it's like, you can't come up with,
• 47:32you have to dig into the next week's budget,
• 47:34which is a huge and significant loss.
• 47:36So that's kind of what some of
• 47:39the answers in my focus groups were about.
• 47:43<v ->Yeah, and I guess speaking to the medical side,</v>
• 47:46I don't think any of our participants
• 47:50mentioned insulin in particular,
• 47:52but I think at least one mentioned medical devices
• 47:56that require electricity
• 47:59that participants or their neighbors need to,
• 48:04I mean, basically stay alive.
• 48:06And so, there was a lot of concern around that,
• 48:09but I guess that was mostly geared towards
• 48:17storm outages rather than shutoffs.
• 48:26Okay, another question.
• 48:28"Did participants have recommendations
• 48:31on what a better process or method might be
• 48:35for sharing sensitive or uncomfortable information
• 48:37that is required by utilities for program eligibility.
• 48:42With the example of the respondent
• 48:46that was uncomfortable with
• 48:48the income documentation of roommates?
• 48:51So how can motivated renters, landlords
• 48:55or third party support or outreach services
• 48:57handle this situation?"
• 49:03So as far as I remember,
• 49:07there were no particular recommendations
• 49:10on what a better process might be,
• 49:12other than reducing intrusive questioning wherever possible.
• 49:19One participant said that
• 49:20when dealing with public money organizations
• 49:22should have to adhere to certain guidelines
• 49:25and provide specific information
• 49:28to disperses public dollars.
• 49:30And participants generally understand
• 49:33that they have to provide financial information,
• 49:35but maintaining respect for the people
• 49:39who need assistance is key.
• 49:43So yeah, if anyone wants to tackle
• 49:47the second part where renters and landlords
• 49:53can handle this situation.
• 49:56<v ->I'll just jump in quickly to add</v>
• 49:58to what you were saying as well.
• 49:59And I think a lot of the participants' reactions
• 50:02to invasive questioning was also centered around
• 50:05lack of follow up after having such a personal experience.
• 50:09Sharing that information too
• 50:11and feeling like after providing such intimate details,
• 50:15also feeling like their application
• 50:19potentially fell through the cracks
• 50:21and they had to add extra effort
• 50:25in order to receive assistance.
• 50:30And so I think that added to the discomfort
• 50:32with feeling like the questioning was invasive.
• 50:40<v ->And I'd like to add that.</v>
• 50:41I think that one of the answers to
• 50:45a better process of enrollment is data-sharing agreements
• 50:49between the utility companies
• 50:51and community-based organizations.
• 50:55Like what I would like to do is not even have people apply.
• 51:00If that person is on a fixed income
• 51:03over a certain age,
• 51:07we would just get a list of the most vulnerable
• 51:11from the utility companies.
• 51:13Those with balances on their accounts,
• 51:16and that we would just then send the utility companies
• 51:21a check on behalf of those customers
• 51:24and that we would just do this annually
• 51:27so that anyone who struggles
• 51:31with this year after year after year,
• 51:34again, on a fixed income where their income will not change,
• 51:38that we just automatically provide
• 51:43a payment on those customers' behalf.
• 51:45And then we can kind of think about ways
• 51:47to support folks who are in that second tier,
• 51:50who may be employed,
• 51:53but still are on incomes that do not line up
• 51:58with the cost of living in the state.
• 52:00There's gotta be a way in which we can kind of
• 52:02auto-enroll those folks too,
• 52:04but it really does boil down to
• 52:07having these data-sharing agreements
• 52:08between utility companies and community organizations.
• 52:20<v ->Great, another question.</v>
• 52:23"Was it ever brought up how tenants
• 52:25don't have access to control the energy they pay for,
• 52:29because landlord's lock basements where fuse boxes may be?"
• 52:43<v ->Sorry, I don't mean to keep talking,</v>
• 52:44but I do have an answer for this one that I'll be quick.
• 52:48So in one of my focus groups,
• 52:50there was one person in particular
• 52:51who was talking about how she lives in a rental unit.
• 52:55And she pays for all of her utilities.
• 52:59None of her utilities are included in the rent,
• 53:01but her landlord doesn't let her
• 53:04like change anything about like
• 53:07the temperature control of the unit,
• 53:09access to changing the heat settings
• 53:11are not available to her.
• 53:12It's locked away.
• 53:13I don't know if that was in the basement or not,
• 53:15but this was definitely brought up.
• 53:17And I mean, quite frankly,
• 53:21like it's terrible, it's disgusting.
• 53:24And so it definitely came up.
• 53:31<v ->And at Operation Fuel, we often hear</v>
• 53:33from our fuel banks and even some customers
• 53:36who are applying independently through our portal,
• 53:39that there is a complicated relationship
• 53:42between their landlord and their utility bill.
• 53:46And that the landlord has the bill in their name.
• 53:50So we do work around those issues so that
• 53:54we can continue to provide the support
• 53:56and not deny a person assistance
• 54:00when those situations arise.
• 54:02But I think that that's another piece that
• 54:04we all need to think about is
• 54:06not everyone's situation is so cut and dry
• 54:09that they can just come into your office
• 54:11and provide you with all the documents that you require
• 54:14and then get the assistance.
• 54:16And in some cases they're not even guaranteed assistance
• 54:19if they have all of their paperwork in order.
• 54:21So, there's gotta be a better way
• 54:23in which we remove these barriers.
• 54:25Again, auto-enrolling people that we know
• 54:28are struggling with this.
• 54:29Perhaps we can use census data block information to do that.
• 54:35I think that as we, for me,
• 54:37I feel like we're nearly into 2023.
• 54:41So that's just how rapidly things are moving.
• 54:44It just seems really outdated
• 54:46that we are still requiring people
• 54:48to make an appointment to apply for assistance.
• 54:51I just don't understand why we're still
• 54:53in that system of us assisting people.
• 54:58There's gotta be a more efficient way to do this.
• 55:05<v ->Thank you, Brenda.</v>
• 55:07And I will add one more thing.
• 55:08My sense is that housing feels like
• 55:12the most important need.
• 55:13And so then if there's this tension
• 55:16between the renter and a landlord,
• 55:19I think the renters often feel like
• 55:21they don't wanna report the landlord
• 55:23or create tension between
• 55:27them around the heating
• 55:28because they want to make sure that they keep their housing.
• 55:32And so, I think that really points
• 55:34to the importance of ensuring basic needs
• 55:38of providing affordable housing that is
• 55:41quality housing and that the energy assistance
• 55:46can be a part of that.
• 55:47But these essential needs are really important first.
• 56:03<v ->Great.</v>
• 56:08"Do the utilities know who is struggling
• 56:12and why can't they give that info?"
• 56:17<v ->The utility companies do have a list</v>
• 56:19of their hardship customers.
• 56:21And they will not share that info
• 56:25because they do not have data-sharing agreements with,
• 56:29well, I'll just speak for Operation Fuel.
• 56:31They do not have one with us.
• 56:32We are actively working with them on,
• 56:37hopefully having something sorted out with them soon,
• 56:42hopefully by July.
• 56:44I believe that, we have a pretty solid reputation
• 56:48as an organization in that.
• 56:51I believe that we can be trusted with that customer info.
• 56:55And again, it would save us a lot of admin time
• 56:59if they just sent us a list of those customers
• 57:03and we just mailed them back that check.
• 57:06And then they can just code those customers
• 57:09protected for that month or someone noted earlier
• 57:14or recommended earlier in your group, in your focus group,
• 57:17that the winter protection programs start sooner,
• 57:21which is a solution.
• 57:23But there's also, I think,
• 57:26a new situation that we're running into now
• 57:29that is unfamiliar to Connecticut
• 57:32and that's summer protection.
• 57:34As we continue to see our temperatures rise in the summer,
• 57:40heat waves are becoming more frequent.
• 57:43I think the greater threat to a lack of electricity,
• 57:50access to hot water is in the summer.
• 57:53That is where people who have vulnerable issues
• 57:56or underlying issues are at most threat
• 57:59is in the summer compared to winter.
• 58:02I know that there's this, we all grew up believing
• 58:04that people freeze to death without heat.
• 58:08I can't recall in my lifetime ever hearing about,
• 58:13my lifetime at Operation Fuel that is,
• 58:15ever hearing about anyone freezing to death.
• 58:18I believe that winter-related deaths
• 58:20are more connected to people slipping and falling,
• 58:24having heart attacks during snow removal
• 58:28and things like that.
• 58:29Car accidents.
• 58:30I can't recall any a time where people
• 58:32were freezing to death.
• 58:34So I think that we should consider
• 58:39a policy around a moratorium
• 58:42when a heat wave is approaching.
• 58:47And some states do have that, Phoenix in particular.
• 58:57<v ->There's another question for you, Brenda.</v>
• 58:59"Will the utility companies match any payments received
• 59:02that is not from the energy program?"
• 59:07<v ->So yes, the utility companies</v>
• 59:10do have arrearage forgiveness programs
• 59:12that their customers can enroll in.
• 59:14Gannon, I'll put you on a spot,
• 59:16as I know that you can answer that question
• 59:19better than I can in terms of
• 59:22what protections are in place
• 59:24and what programs folks can enroll in.
• 59:30<v ->Yeah, and I think there's,</v>
• 59:32it's kinda a complicated question
• 59:33based on the time of the year,
• 59:34'cause we just came out of the winter protection period
• 59:36that ends on May 1st.
• 59:38So we've been seeing,
• 59:40I know our programs team has been seeing
• 59:42an increase in applications from folks
• 59:44because they've had protection.
• 59:45But sometimes when you're protected from shutoff,
• 59:47your bill is continuing to accrue.
• 59:50So, during the protection period,
• 59:54there's a matching payment program people can enroll in.
• 59:56And then there's also a new,
• 59:59there's a new start that Eversource has.
• 01:00:02But I would encourage folks,
• 01:00:04the people who can really explain this
• 01:00:05are gonna be your utility company.
• 01:00:07And I would encourage folks to contact their utilities
• 01:00:11if they're looking for the best fit for them.
• 01:00:15'Cause there are a few different payment plans
• 01:00:16and they kinda change based on
• 01:00:19what PURA approves in that year.
• 01:00:24<v ->Great.</v>
• 01:00:25I think that's all the time we have now.
• 01:00:29We would like to thank CT network for broadcasting today
• 01:00:32and the recording of this will be on their website.
• 01:00:38And just a reminder to fill out this survey
• 01:00:40that Sarah sent in the chat.
• 01:00:43And thank you so much for joining us.
• 01:00:48We really appreciate your time.