Unpaid bills for natural gas are up sharply

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About 20,000 CenterPoint customers have been disconnected — at least double the number in previous years.

About 160,000 CenterPoint Energy customers across Minnesota are in arrears on their natural gas bills, up from a 70,000 to 100,000 at the end of summer in years past, the company said Tuesday.

About 20,000 customers have been disconnected — double to triple the number in years past — with an average amount due of about $1,200. Service has been restored for about 40 percent of those customers, who have agreed to payment plans. The company has about 780,000 Minnesota customers.


“It’s not just a bill that’s one day past due,” said Greg Schirmers, CenterPoint manager of credit. As many as half are behind in payments for 150 days or more, he said.

But it’s an open question whether the $66 million in overdue gas bills is a bellwether of hard times for homeowners or continued fallout from real estate speculators who’ve been burned by falling prices.

“There are a lot of people who are carrying a large level of debt and who are struggling,” Schirmers said.

Star-Tribune (Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN)