Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Seniors get utility bill help at expo
Project REACH aids about 1,400 customers
Rising temperatures can mean higher costs to keep air conditioners running and homes cool, and that can mean rising anxiety for seniors struggling to pay their energy bills.
That’s where Project REACH comes in.
Project REACH — Relief through Energy Assistance to Prevent Customer Hardships — is NV Energy’s program for income-eligible customers older than 62 or those who are medically fragile or Reserve and National Guard Members.
NV Energy officials were at Cashman Center for the 10th annual Senior Energy Assistance Expo on Saturday teaching locals about the program.
When Daniel Quinones’ number was called after an hourlong wait, he and his mother, Rose Satre, walked to the front of the center’s Hall A and were greeted by NV Energy representatives.
Pat Egan, NV Energy senior vice president of customer operations, said Project REACH can help customers save up to $350 on a past-due electric bill.
“Lots of people are in serious need and this is a way to get it all done in one day,” he said.
Last year more than $340,000 was credited to 1,200 NV Energy customers through Project REACH.
Dropping energy rates have offered seniors, and others, some relief. On July 1, NV Energy announced monthly rates for residential, commercial and industrial users would dip 1.47 percent.
That decrease would save a typical Southern Nevada single-family residential customer $2.55 a month, based on average usage of 1,141 kilowatt-hours a month, the company said. The decrease would cut that bill to $133.74 from $136.29.
Since June 30, 2015, NV Energy said, the average monthly bill for a typical single-family user has dropped $20.81, or 13.5 percent.
But some seniors need more help. At Saturday’s expo, the utility company helped about 1,400 customers. Quinones, for example, was credited $150 toward his utility bill.
“Every little bit helps,” he said. “Overall, it reduces my monthly bill and I’m looking to sell my house, so in the process, I’m looking to save as much as I can.”
NV Energy customer Sandra Brown was credited $350 towards her bill. She has been out of work since November.
“(The savings) is going to help because I don’t have to stress out about it, which feels good so now I can focus on other stuff,” she said. “This (expo) is really needed. It’s important because a lot of people need help.”
Jeff Alcorn attended the expo for the third year, hoping to get his utility bill covered.
“The summer is what beats us up,” he said referring to the high utility costs during the summer months. “Seniors don’t acclimate to the heat well and for quadriplegics and paraplegics it’s especially important.”
Alcorn, who saved nearly $200 at Saturday’s expo, broke his neck during a high diving accident 40 years ago and is in a wheelchair.
“I hope (the expo) stays because there are plenty of seniors who need it,” he said about. “I need it and it makes a difference and helps the community.”
For more information on Project REACH, visit nvenergy.com/help or call 702-402-5200.
FOREST FALLS, Calif. — A mother of three has provoked a backlash for having a bear shot after it repeatedly broke into her Southern California mountain home.
“I haven’t regretted my decision at all. But the way the people in this town initially responded was initially disheartening,” Julie Faith Strauja told the San Bernardino Sun.
“I’ve had death threats and my address posted all over social media.”
Strauja moved to this community of about 1,000 in the San Bernardino Mountains last month.
A self-proclaimed animal lover, she became worried after a bear repeatedly entered her home two weekends ago.
“It had already come into my house Friday night and then again broke into my kitchen early Saturday morning and attacked my dog,” Strauja told the Sun.
“I have three little kids, and it was pretty terrifying to come home to a bear in the kitchen,” Strauja told KABC-TV.
Strauja got a depredation permit from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and a friend shot the animal that Sunday after it tried to enter her home for the third day in a row.
“I understand that people are upset,” department spokesman Andrew Hughan said.
“We don’t want to destroy animals unless we have to. The fact is this bear was inside the residence and had been inside the house several times.”
But some residents said Strauja should have used other means.