- [Narrator] "Flatland" is brought to you in part through the generous support of AARP and the Health Forward Foundation.

- Hi, I'm D. Rashaan Gilmore.

Welcome to "Flatland".

Every month we dig into one issue that's raising questions, causing tensions, or has gone curiously unexplored in our area.

For this episode, we'll be talking about the cost of utilities in a changing climate.

(upbeat music) Wildfires, heatwaves, and 60 degree Christmas days are expected to become increasingly common as climate change continues.

Last February, Winter Storm Uri brought severe freezing temperatures across the Metro, resulting in a strained energy grid and premium prices for resources like natural gas.

Utility bills across the board can be expected to rise as our reliance on them increases during extreme weather events.

However, research shows that the cost of utilities weighs heavier on some families more than others.

Let's take a look at the resources available to help energy burdened households and examine the question of just who should foot the bill.

(gentle music) - Kansas City is one of the top cities to experience the worst effects of climate change.

The more extreme these temperatures are, the more that folks are adjusting their temperatures to meet the needs of their families in their homes, the higher their utility bills will continue to be.

- We get tested from time to time.

And like you brought up Winter Storm Uri was one of those tests.

It was a stress on the total energy infrastructure.

Our group looks out two to three to four years, making sure we have enough pipeline capacity and storage to serve our customers.

And we kind of plan our system around reaching that peak day, those very cold days, we were having to go out and buy some gas in the market.

Prices were substantially high.

Those are passed onto the customer dollar for dollar.

There's no markup from Spire, from the utility.

It's what we're paying out in the marketplace.

Winter Storm Uri kind of spooked the market.

This upcoming winter, we're having to deal with those costs that we didn't collect and then a new higher level set of prices.

We knew this kind of perfect storm was out there.

We see some headlines out there of like a 40% increase for Spire, could have been substantially higher if we didn't take steps with our regulators to try to spread those Uri costs out over multiple years.

Because our residential consumer is spending maybe up to three, three and a half percent.

For some low income consumers that can be as high as eight, nine or higher percentage.

I've seen numbers as high as 25% or 40%.

- Out of the top 48 metropolitan areas in the country, Kansas City is number seven in terms of energy burdens, usually lower income individuals and families, they oftentimes live in older buildings and neighborhoods that have been disinvested in.

Unfortunately that is a lot of our black, indigenous, and people of color.

- For electrical assistance only was $33,292 that we helped families out with.

That was 2019.

2020 was more than doubled.

This year, 120,268 electric only households, almost a 400% increase.

And that's just electric.

I mean, the rental is huge.

The water is huge to get, I mean, everything, everything is up three or four fold, everything.

There is a lot of assistance out there.

So the only piece with it right now is that people would have to be on a waiting list.

The waiting list I think last time I heard it was maybe 1500 households.

That's a lot.

There's people that are months and months and months and months behind, 10 and $12,000.

During the moratorium it wasn't an issue, but now it is.

- In the state of Kansas and Missouri, there's a cold weather rule where utilities can not shut off people's power when the temperature falls below 32 degrees.

And this doesn't include automatic reconnections.

So if it goes above 32 degrees and the utilities disconnects a handful of folks' power and then it drops back down again, they're not reconnecting those folks' power.

But then when they lift the shutoff moratorium, then we're faced with an avalanche of shutoffs because they don't put in other protections that would help mitigate this crisis, such as payment plans that are actually achievable.

- February of last year, I ended up having my second knee surgery.

So I definitely had to pick and choose which bills I could pay, which ones had to wait.

So I acquired a pretty huge bill with Evergy, I believe it was almost about to clear two grand at that point.

COVID was going on.

So I was able to get on their COVID payment plan.

I had just gone back to work and they decided that they were gonna shut off my lights Monday.

And that was my biggest concern.

Like, hey, I have a kid, I can't have my lights shut off.

I had no notice of their COVID plan ending.

I needed to pay I believe it was either $700 to be able to get on a payment plan, which makes no sense.

It's a domino effect of things that have happened, your current situation and things that will happen if it's not rectified.

(festive music) - Everybody's been naughty this year.

Everybody's getting coal.

- Is success for an electric utility company that they make the most money, I would say, really their success should be monitored off of were they able to keep the most people's power on.

Were they able to provide that power at a low cost?

There is the reality of what Evergy's PR puts forward and kind of the image that they've cultivated.

And then there's the realities of the other stuff that they're doing, the things that they're saying to their investors, the things that they are putting their money into, the donations that they're making, political donations, as long as they can keep lining the pockets of the politicians, then it makes all those politicians much less likely to be writing bills that would reign their power in.

A lot of these upgrades and switches to renewables they are willing to make, but they just want to wait until something has passed that will pay them to do it.

This is despite the fact that they paid no federal income taxes last year.

We have very little power to regulate them on a municipal level.

- Cities are starting to understand that as they develop their climate goals and their climate plans, that most of the power lies with the state regulators to actually allow the cities to achieve those goals and do it in a way that's fair for the public and the utilities.

- One of the things I do want to mention that we're working on with utilities right now is particularly with Evergy, and that is energy efficiency.

That's one really good avenue for weatherization proposals that benefit low-income rate payers that we believe is a win-win for both the utility and for the rate payer.

The type of energy efficiency that Evergy is proposing is somewhat novel in Kansas.

We're happy to see that it's coming and we'll have to see how it meets the needs of low-income people over time.

- The utilities, to play a big role in how we move this forward, we're holding the utilities accountable, but then we have the home owner.

And then we have the dweller or the renter.

The communications I have.

- The split incentive, which is kind of common law language with clean energy experts, where landlords aren't incentivized to upgrade their buildings.

- That is a lot of people that don't necessarily have control over the homes that they're living in, whether they're suitable for the climate that we're living in at this point.

- I mean, I have been in homes to where you can feel the breeze with the windows shut.

I mean, I've seen gaps where the window is.

- Energy disclosure means if you're a landlord, if you're a prospective tenant, they would have to give you an estimate of what your utility cost would be to live there.

KC Tenants started that conversation when they had an energy disclosure policy in their tenants bill of rights.

Unfortunately by the time those ordinances were passed, it was extremely watered down.

It just basically says the landlord's supposed to give the phone numbers of the utilities.

And if you have trouble getting that information, they're supposed to assist in that process.

- It is a subtle way to encourage landlords to upgrade their buildings and to go to take care of their rentals so that they are energy efficient.

- When we say it's important to invest in buildings, it is because these are the homes and places we shop and live and play in for the next 50, 60, 70 years.

- Items such as building codes, working with landlords or other things that we need to do.

It takes a village to get this problem solved.

- All right, welcome back for the discussion portion of our program.

With us in the studio today is Beth Pauley, program director at Climate and Energy Project, Alexandria Phillips, compliance specialist at Community Action Agency of Greater Kansas City, Beto Martinez, executive director with Clean Air Now, and Colton Thomas, a leader with Sunrise Movement Kansas City.

When I was a kid, you know, I grew up poor, some might have called us hood rich, but we definitely were poor.

And one of the most terrifying things I ever experienced didn't have to deal with guns or gangs.

It had to deal with seeing the energy company truck show up to cut off the power or to shut off the gas or to shut off the water.

And that's a very scary thing.

So I'm just curious to hear from those of you who are working directly with families, what are their biggest concerns as we get colder and colder as we press into winter?

Beth, what are your thoughts on that?

- Yeah, I think, you know, you set up very well.

Utility shutoffs are a major concern, especially in extreme temperatures, and as I'm sure your program noted, we do have some very minimal protections this time of year under the cold weather rule.

But the problem is is that those protections are temperature based.

And as we all know, temperatures fluctuate in the Midwest.

So having protections that rely on 32 degree temperatures does not keep families safe and also does not reconnect families' power when the temperature does drop below 32 degrees.

Utility shutoffs also do not happen in a vacuum as families chronically struggle to pay high utility bills throughout the year, and also do not have access to programs that would lower their energy bills to prevent utility shutoffs, such as community solar, residential solar, and energy efficiency programs.

So there are a couple of ways to look at this.

One is the fact that utility shutoffs are a symptom of chronic issues, and two that there are very minimal programs for families to have financial assistance during these times.

- One of the chronic issues, Alexandria, that Beth kind of alluded to.

And I'm just thinking about people who have older homes or homes that are less energy efficient, homes that need weatherization, your agency provides some of that assistance.

What are the issues that you are encountering when you go into these homes?

- You hit it right on the head, you know, older homes and just people really concerned about what am I gonna do today?

My electric bill or my heat is going to be cut off tomorrow.

So they're not thinking long-term where weatherization comes in, we'll come into your home, do an energy audit.

We'll see really where you're losing that energy.

So then we will seal your windows and your doors, put in insulation.

We will take a look at your water heater and your furnace to see if it needs repaired or replaced to make your home more comfortable for you and your family, to lower those utility bills, and make your home more energy efficient.

Our program is free to residents in Jackson, Clay, and Clark County.

We're always taking applications.

It's a year round program.

We're never not working.

So it's just getting that in your mind and applying.

- So I'm curious then, Beto, your focus on climate change, the environment came about at a time when I think people were seeing that there are issues in the environment, but not really understanding at least as far as my own personal assessment of that what the core foundational issues around climate change are.

Can you describe for our viewers what the real issues are?

And the real dangers are around climate change if we don't take critical action now?

- Yeah, sure.

So some of the issues, like you mentioned, our organization started in neighborhoods where community members were concerned about the industrial air pollution, fossil fuel related pollution from diesel emissions, chemical plants in their neighborhood.

And so they were concerned about their health.

Seeing that in their community, that people were dying 20 up to 20 years having a shorter life span, 20 to 22 years shorter than other parts of the same county.

So that really raised a lot of alarms in the community because they understood that even though we live fence line to an industrial pollution or an industry, we are also, our families also work in these places.

So they're exposed.

It's a double whammy.

You have the worker that has worked and supported the dirty industries.

And now their families are also exposed.

So it's also the worker's health and the family's health that's being exposed.

But when we talk about some of the issues with climate changes, that a lot of the plans that are being, action plans, climate action plans that are being drafted are not really taking into account those communities that are most impacted, the same communities that we're talking about here, the ones with energy poverty, the ones that don't have their homes weatherized.

The same communities that are a paycheck, many of them, some of them are a paycheck away from homelessness.

So they have to struggle, think about other issues, not just whether I'm gonna get shut off whether I pay my electric bill, whether I put food on the table, or whether I pay the rent.

- I was noticing Colton during the discussion, you were doing a lot of nodding there.

So what part of the conversation really caught your ear?

And it seemed like you kind of honed in when Beto was talking about the affordability aspect of that.

Can you talk about where Sunrise Movement is helping to organize Kansas Citians in our Metro around that particular issue?

- Yeah.

Sunrise has done a lot of work as far as organizing citizens of the KC area.

Some of the things that we've done, we've done actions on the Plaza, just pointing out the fact that Evergy is still profiting off of these people that everyone has talked about, especially Beto, and Evergy is still shutting off people in these disinvested communities.

I really resonated with something you said in the very beginning where growing up, you saw the energy truck outside or the gas truck outside, and you would see the dude that was walking up to the side of your house inside or wherever you live in, go into your box, wherever it was, and just seeing all the lights flash off.

There is no more humiliating and humbling feeling in the entire world.

- It's also traumatic.

It just does something to you that this most essential of human needs has now been separated from you.

- Completely erased, completely erased.

I have a lot of respect for you for sharing that.

- Thank you.

And I should also mention too, you mentioned Evergy, we did invite Evergy to be a part of this conversation today that they declined.

We also invited Spire, but they also weren't able to be with us.

When we are talking about the assistance that is available.

In Kansas City last year, we got 75.1 million, I'm sorry, Missouri, $75.1 million in federal energy assistance.

On the Kansas side, 38.5.

This year because of the American Rescue Act, there was some additional money that was flowing this way to the tune of about $100 million.

I'm just curious, when we talk about these programs, when we talk about resources that are available, how accessible are they and are they really getting to the people as Beto said who really need it the most?

- Yeah, that's a great question.

And I will say that from my experience, talking to folks in the field who are very worried about utility shutoffs, had either experienced a utility shutoff, hard to take out a loan or are worried about utility shutoffs are not able make the payment plan.

These programs are not very accessible for a couple of reasons, but the problem is is that there's such an influx in people who need access to these programs.

And there's only so much that these action agencies and study programs and temporary programs can do.

And the other problem is, as you alluded to and as Beto said so well, is that folks are experiencing overlapping crises.

So not only are they struggling to pay their electricity bills, their gas bills, their rent bills, they're also struggling to put food on the table to get access to medical care to survive during a global pandemic.

So to insinuate that the entire burden of this problem is on the people who are experiencing the problem, it's not enough.

We also need to add additional protection such as extending the utility shutoff moratorium, having no minimum payment plans, as well as having meaningful debt relief while these peoples' bills rack up.

- Talking about taking the power basically and putting it back into the people's hands, no pun intended of course, how do we begin to organize people at the community level, Colton?

And then I'll let Alexandria follow right behind that with, at the individual level, how do I take control so that political leaders and corporate titans alike understand that I'm in charge of my life and my destiny and that as a consumer, as a citizen, we are gonna take the lead in driving the change that we so desperately need to see?

First to you Colton.

- So there's, I know you asked about community engagement and there's quite a few different approaches individuals can take to this.

And first of all, it's just getting your word out there.

It's just getting out the word that this reform, this change that all of us want to see is possible.

And these companies don't have to be on top forever, and we do have a voice.

And it's sad that a lot of people think that they're stuck in this debt, and right now they definitely can be.

But with organizations, with these people, like the people on this call right now, I truly see a future for everybody struggling, especially the people in these disinvested communities.

And now, more than ever, I know Kansas City recently declared a climate emergency.

There is so much good news coming that I feel like now is the perfect time for the community to really get involved.

- Well, that's an encouragement.

And Alexandria, if you would take the next 30, 45 seconds to talk about from your perspective, what does it take to empower families to maybe take better control over their energy use and energy needs?

- Yeah, I agree with Colton.

One of the biggest referrals we see is just word of mouth.

When someone gets their home weatherized and they understand and realize the program and the effects that it has on their family and their home and their health.

I mean, it's more than just energy, right?

It's their whole being.

So letting your neighbors, your family or friends you know, going to your neighborhood association, talking to them, getting the whole neighborhood and community involved, and really just working towards making change.

- Empowering impacted residents to take control of their own climate plans, taking advantage of federal dollars that are waiting in the wings.

The Build Back Better act has been stalled up in a gridlocked Congress for a really long time.

But in the meantime, we really need to be putting pressure on our elected officials and our regulatory agencies to pass plans that impacted people and residents want.

So the Public Service Commission in Missouri regulates investor-owned utilities, Kansas Corporation Commission in Kansas regulates investor-owned utilities.

These processes are designed to be anti-democratic, but with a lot of grassroots engagement, we can really democratize this process and get more and more folks involved in the energy planning process.

- Every month on our website, we answer your questions about life in Kansas City and the issues you care about through our Curious KC initiative.

Let's hear from our community reporter Vicki Diaz Camacho about our question of the month.

- This month's Curious KC question is from Kate.

She asked what are landlords and developers doing to update HVAC, window installation, et cetera, for lower income residents?

- So I'm gonna throw that question to you Alexandria, because your agency is on the ground offering many of the weatherization services that we've been talking about today.

What proactive roles are landlords and property developers to take in all of this?

- So we do offer the weatherization program to renters.

So that's the biggest thing is getting your landlord's approval.

We will come into houses, duplexes, up to a fiveplex, mobile homes and we will weatherize them.

So the biggest thing is getting that landlord approval.

Again, our program is free.

We're making longterm home improvement so we're making this home more energy efficient.

We're improving it for these tenants, not just today and tomorrow, but down the road.

- This is a really great question.

And when I first heard this question, my short answer was not enough.

I think from my perspective, being a Kansas City resident and seeing the affordable housing crisis as well as the incentives that our cities so generously hand out to developers, I would be really hesitant to further incentivize developers when they should be inherently providing tenants with a comfortable living space and already get very, very generous handouts from the city.

I'm very, very intrigued and supportive of amplifying work by tenants and by the tenant unions on the city.

KC Tenants has proposed a people's housing trust fund that would put ownership of buildings as well as green energy programs into the tenants.

And so I think it's important that we think outside of the box of solutions that we see in other, you know, some complicated financing solutions with green energy experts.

I think that allocating public dollars and city dollars under tenant advisory boards for tenants to decide how these dollars should be spent in the homes that they're living in is really, really important.

So social housing is something that Kansas City should look to from the climate protection plan steering committee that would promote things like energy efficiency and residential solar.

In terms of other solutions that exist, the Public Service Commission required Evergy to run a pay as you save a pilot program that I think will compliment Alexandria's income-based weatherization programs really well because it requires the utilities to invest in that upfront cost for weatherization programs, for energy audits, and then the tenant or the homeowner slowly pays back these programs on their bill.

And I do want to clarify that Evergy is not running this program willingly.

They were required to do it by the Public Service Commission.

It is a pilot program so funds are limited.

In my opinion, the next step would be to fully fund this program to increase the access to this program for more people.

- And that's where we wrap up today's conversation for this episode of "Flatland".

that's Climate and Energy Program director Beth Pauley, compliance specialist at Community Action Agency of Greater Kansas City, Alexandria Phillips, executive director with Clean Air Now, Beto Martinez, and Colton Thomas with Sunrise Movement Kansas City.

Thank you for joining us.

And you can find additional reporting on utility costs in our region at flatlandsshow.org, or you can also submit your very own Curious KC question for the next month's topic.

This has been "Flatland", I'm D. Rashaan Gilmore, and as always, thank you for the pleasure of your time.

Bye-bye.

- [Narrator] "Flatland" is brought to you in part through the generous support of AARP and the Health Forward Foundation.

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