Michigan probe 90-year-old woman's death in power-shutoff

[flashl]

State to probe power-shutoff death

VICKSBURG -- State regulators are investigating whether American Electric Power followed proper procedures last month when it shut off the power to the home of a 90-year-old Vicksburg woman who died with pneumonia after suffering exposure, frostbite and hypothermia.

The Michigan Public Service Commission typically looks into cases on a complaint basis, but the agency decided to launch its own inquiry because of the publicity generated by the death of Phyllis Willett, spokeswoman Judy Palnau said.

"The commission is aware because of various media reports," Palnau said. "They're looking to see if it was handled correctly."

State rules regulating utilities require that customers be notified -- including a face-to-face visit -- before power is shut off. Company officials have said they mailed a notice to Willett and have a record of calling her, but they refuse to say whether anyone visited her home before her power was discontinued on Dec. 13.

A social worker on Dec. 17 discovered Willett and her 63-year-old daughter, who has a mental disability, wrapped in coats and blankets on the floor of the home. Willett died four days later while her daughter survived.

Michigan News

[rwheeler31]

1. This is so sad.

[ingac70]

2. This pisses me off to no end...

The electric and gas companies shouldn't be allowed to cut off service mid-winter in locations that get extremely cold and mid summer in locations that get extremely hot in my opinion.

An aside here from my own experience on what scumbags run utilities... when I was 18 I moved out on my own. When I signed up for electric I checked a little box saying I would give money for power bills for the poor, and tacked on an extra 10 dollars a month to my electric bill, thinking I was doing the right thing.

It wasn't like I had a lot of money... I worked two fast food jobs.

The following winter I'm watching the news, and a young mother in my city with 3 kids under age 4 died in a house fire on the coldest day of the year... because the electric company turned the power off earlier that day.

Of course, I quit giving away extra money for the electric company to pocket. I should have sued to get back my over $100 in small claims court. Scumbags.

[bobbolink]

5. IN the first place, if they were community utilities, as they used to be and SHOULD be,

the prices wouldn't be so high, and there could be more options for helping people.

As it is, with a privatized company, any effort at "helping" is also adding to the profit margin of some business people who likely already have several big homes....

Your heart was in the right place when you were 18, and bless you for that! :pals:

[Hekate]

3. There's a place in Hell...

Good Lord.

Hekate

[kdmorris]

4. That makes me cry and want to hit someone

WHY the hell are the allowed to turn off the heat source AT ALL in that climate. Fuck the "face to face meeting". Turning off someone's heat source in the cold should be negligent homicide.

I cannot imagine how awful it must be to freeze to death. In all the winter climates I lived in (Maryland, Wisconsin), they weren't allowed to turn my electric off during the winter. I kept the thermostat down to 65 in the winter, 60 at night, so it was pretty cold in the house anyway, but... to allow our people to freeze to death in 2008 should be the greatest shame we have as a country.

[cutlassmama]

6. So they "probe" and then what??? Probably not a thing.

Even if they do bother to "probe". When the publicity of this event wears off people will forget about it and nothing will happen except that more people will also die.