A viewer who can’t afford her power bill reached out to Action News Jax to find out what she, and others facing the same difficult circumstances, can do.
In the past month, Clay Electric says 2,900 members have had their power disconnected. That’s out of 187,000 member-owned accounts.
So, it comes down to 1.5%
But the woman we spoke to, despite wishing to remain anonymous, wants her struggle known.
“Every which way I turn, and every which way I try to find help, there’s no help,” she said.
She says her mother used her own stimulus check to pay for power a couple of days ago, but it was off for days before that.
Her asthma forces her to rely on a nebulizer, which needs power to work.
“If I don’t do it, it literally causes me to – I get lightheaded just because I can’t breathe, it’s like you’ve got an elephant sitting on your chest,” she explained.
Unemployment money stopped coming eight weeks ago and her case is being processed.
“There’s literally nothing else that you can do because I’m not getting my money from unemployment,” she said, as she got emotional. “I’m sorry, I’m not getting the money from unemployment to pay my bills and if I’m not getting my money to pay my bills that’s causing everything else to go awry.”
There are utility and power financial assistance programs here in Clay, St. John’s, and Duval counties.
Clay County Utility Assistance
Duval County Utility Assistance
Nassau County Power/Utility Assistance
Clay Electric suggests anyone struggling to make payments reach out to them.
The woman we spoke to says she did, but hasn’t gotten any help yet.
Cox Media Group
