Oklahoma Families Get $1,340 Power Bills as Record Heat Triggers Shutoff Notices
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Oct 18
Oklahoma Families Get $1,340 Power Bills as Record Heat Triggers Shutoff Notices
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Oct 18
Summary
$1,340.96 was the balance on one Oklahoma woman's electric bill when a disconnection notice arrived after summer heat eased enough for shutoff rules to expire.
101 degrees is the state's heat-index cutoff for blocking shutoffs; once September temperatures fell to 99, families who had run air-conditioning for months faced payment deadlines.
300 square feet became the main living space for one couple, who sealed off the rest of their house to save power while relying on oxygen and CPAP machines.
One in six U.S. households is already behind on utility bills, federal data shows, after the nation's hottest summer on record ran about 3 degrees above average.
More than a dozen hot-weather states restrict summer shutoffs, pushing many disconnections into October when extreme heat's financial toll becomes harder to avoid.