Energy Insecurity in Connecticut: Town Hall Discussion

May 18, 2022

Information

May 6, 2022

From January to April 2022, graduate student researchers from Vermont Law School and Yale University conducted 10 focus groups with 22 CT residents to discuss their lived experiences with and coping mechanisms for unaffordable heat and electricity costs. At this town hall discussion, the team shared participants’ experiences, and Operation Fuel’s policy and program teams moderated a question and answer session.

Speakers:

Brenda Watson - Executive Director, Operation Fuel
Epongue Ekille – Yale School of the Environment
Sarah Gledhill - Yale School of the Environment
Erika-ann Kim - Yale School of Public Health
Kimberly Mashke - Vermont Law School
Olivia St Pierre - Vermont Law School
Jhena Vigrass - Yale School of the Environment

ID7851

To CiteDCA Citation Guide

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.