Bay Area Reporter - April 12, 2001
David Fraser

Lurking within is the specter of red ink, growing despite efforts to conserve.

PG&E's announcement last Friday, April 6, that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, has just obscured the future even more. The announcement is inflaming statewide squabbles between the utility firm, regulators, and Governor Gray Davis. Through the thick haze of energy politics, fingers are pointing in all directions.

Staci Homrig, a PG&E spokeswoman, told the Bay Area Reporter on Monday, April 9 that the bankruptcy filing by the utility should not change the discounts under the CARE program for qualified nonprofit group living facilities.

"We do not anticipate that our Chapter 11 filing will have any impact on the CARE program" for qualifying nonprofits, Homrig said.

She said the nonprofit customers in the CARE program were not subject to the 9 percent rate increase approved on January 4, nor would they be hit by the recent graduated increase adopted by the California Public Utilities Commission. That rate rise is structured by tiers depending on above-baseline usage by customers, and runs up to 40 percent.

There are stringent guidelines for nonprofits to qualify for CARE, including occupant income levels and organizational tax status.

Charitable organizations contacted by the B.A.R. reported varying degrees of jeopardy, but all expressed a growing concern about the way California's energy crisis could affect their operations and ability to help their clients.

Cohen residence

At the Richard M. Cohen Residence of Dolores Street Community Services, they're looking at a possible 48 percent increase for gas and electric bills in the coming fiscal year, said the organization's executive director, Bob Nelson.

The Cohen residence is a 10-bed, permanent assisted-living facility for men and women living with disabling AIDS.

DSCS figures showed a total bill (electricity and gas) at Cohen house of $8,659 in fiscal year 2000 (July 1999 through June 2000), or about $722 per month. In FY 2001, which runs through this June, the estimate is $12,854, or $1,071 per month average. For the first seven months of the fiscal year through January 2001, monthly rates averaged $828. Since then, they have averaged nearly $1,200 and are projected at $1,556 monthly for April through June.

Projections for FY 2002 expect a 31 percent rise over this year, factoring in a 15 percent increase for natural gas and 40 percent jump for electricity, to a total of $16,861. That would be a 95 percent increase over the FY 2000 level.

Nelson said PG&E's 15 percent discount was figured into the projections.

Calling all sources

Nelson said the impact at Cohen house could be very serious. "We need to find money to cover the extra utility costs," he said. "We're looking first to our city contracts to see if we can get an increase. If we can't get covered, then we need to find funds via donations and foundations.

"Already we're in a climate where the number of foundations funding AIDS work is dwindling à there are not that many pots out there."

He is looking closer to home: "The community has made a commitment to provide care for a long time and the community's got to be there long-term."

Most of the facility's funding comes from federal sources channeled through the city.

Gretchen Kelly, program director for the residence, said, "We're between a rock and a hard place. We have few ways of keeping power rates down, because our residents are quite ill. Turning down the heat is not an option for us."

She said that funds "have not increased in the last few years," and warned that without additional help, "we're going to have to cut other expenses" such as salaries or operating costs.

Cohen house has two refrigerators, heating, and lights on 24 hours a day because of residents' special needs, Kelly said. "We put in low-energy bulbs, and residents are being extremely cooperative about trying to keep the lights off. But when the rolling blackouts hit, it's been very confusing for them."

Kelly said she appreciated the 15 percent PG&E discount, which is applied after the rate increases: "It's certainly helpful, but not enough. We can't easily go to private donors and foundations [for help with energy bills]; they like to fund events, programs, and physical projects."

Catholic Charities

Catholic Charities serves a total of 143 persons with disabling HIV or AIDS at three residences: Leland House, Peter Claver Community, and Derek Silva Community. The organization pays the gas and electric bills for the residents.

The energy crisis is forcing Leland House to ask for a budget increase, according to its facilities director, Kevin Cunz.

"We have 45 residents with disabling HIV or AIDS," Cunz said. "We're always looking for extra funding. We're trying to recoup a specified amount for the utilities [increase]."

Leland House residents pay around 30 percent of their income for the housing, but are not always careful to turn off appliances.

"We've done a lot of educational things with the residents," Cunz said. "We're working with them to reduce consumption, mostly through converting to fluorescent bulbs, and occupancy switches which respond when people enter or leave a room."

Howard Rogers, director of HIV services at Catholic Charities, said the organization is working out its budget, and expects to see a $9,000 hike in utilities charges this year at just one of its facilities.

He cited figures for Peter Claver Community: "For this calendar year, we had budgeted $18,985 for gas and electricity. With the increases received in the last three months, we're now projecting costs at $27,993, with a deficit of $9,009."

Rogers added: "PG&E's 40 percent increase is aimed at high energy users. We don't know if we're included in their definition, but we have huge buildings, so we're trying to plan for the worst."

Adding non-renewable fuel to the fiscal fire are collateral increases in costs of trash disposal and food. Rogers said the levels could even exceed the 40 percent bump in energy bills.

Project Open Hand

Project Open Hand provides meals, groceries, and nutrition counseling to people living with HIV/AIDS, congregate lunches to seniors, and meal service for eligible homebound and critically ill persons. The staff has been hit - at lunch time - by a rolling blackout that forced what some might call a change in the means of production.

"Usually packaging of meals is done by machine," said Tim Etheridge, director of communications. "But in the recent rolling blackout we had volunteers and staff help package meals.

"We have a generator for contingency if another blackout hits and the day's meals are not yet fully prepared."

Etheridge said that the organization has asked staff to help trim energy costs: "If you have good natural lighting, turn off the lights; turn your computers off when you're not using them; take the stairs not the elevator."

But, he added, "We serve nearly 1,200 meals a day. We would never not serve those people, so we do whatever it takes to keep serving them."

Project Open Hand receives funding from individuals, corporations, and foundations, as well as some federal funds through the Ryan White CARE Act. The city of San Francisco provides help for seniors through the Commission on Aging.

AIDS Emergency Fund

The AIDS Emergency Fund provides annual grants of up to $600 for around 3,000 clients, according to operations manager Peter Atanasio.

The fund itself has not felt the impact of the energy crisis because the utility bills are built into the lease. Atanasio told the B.A.R.: "Fortunately, we can pay the rent one year at a time."

However, he said, clients have "faced huge increases. We're seeing more people come in with their PG&E bills; normally the numbers would have been much lower."

The grants can be applied toward rent, medical costs, or utility bills. "People are using up their grants much faster, and more are using them for the PG&E bills," Atanasio said. "We pay the bills for them through the utility companies, or to the landlord.

"We're seeing a huge difference à clients are not able to spread out their grant throughout the year as many did before."

With the same number of clients as last year, the AIDS Emergency Fund paid out $14,700 on behalf of its clients in the first quarter of 2001, versus about $8,000 in the same quarter last year, Atanasio said.

Donations are accepted by these agencies. For more information, call DSCS at (415) 282-6209; Catholic Charities at (415) 844-4800; Project Open Hand at (415) 447-2300; and AEF at (415) 558-6999.

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