Salem death spurs state review of utility disconnect practices

By CHELSEY POLLOCK

Union Leader Correspondent
Friday, Jun. 25, 2010

SALEM – Gov. John Lynch is calling for a statewide review of utility shut-off procedures after the death of a Salem woman relying on an oxygen machine.

Kay Phaneuf, 53, of 18 Charles St. was taken to Caritas Holy Family Hospital in Methuen, Mass., on Monday after rescue workers found her unconscious and without a pulse about 10 a.m. The woman's husband had stepped out of the house that morning and called 911 after returning home and finding Phaneuf unconscious, Salem police Sgt. Rob Morin said.

Rescue workers were able to resuscitate Phaneuf before transferring her to Holy Family in critical condition. She died Thursday night, according to a hospital spokesman.

About one hour before Phaneuf was found in cardiac arrest, a National Grid meter technician had visited the home to disconnect power, according to David Graves, a spokesman for the company.

No one has asserted there was any indication the power shut-off directly caused Phaneuf's cardiac arrest, but "it could be that they are connected and that that was a contributing factor," Morin said.

"It's a terrible tragedy," Graves said Friday. "Our sympathies are with the family, and this is also a very difficult time for the individual who did shut the service off, and we are doing as much as we can to provide support for that individual."

Although Graves said he could not comment specifically on why power was shut off, he said the residence had been notified in writing that service would be terminated.

Graves said the National Grid technician followed procedure, both ringing the doorbell and knocking on the door at 18 Charles St. to try to make direct contact with the residents before cutting power, but no one came to the door.

"A review that we've undertaken in this case shows there's nothing to indicate that anything other than proper procedures took place," Graves said Wednesday.

State law prohibits utility companies from turning off power to anyone who relies on it for medical reasons provided a letter from a doctor confirming the condition is sent to the utility company, said Amanda Noonan, New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission consumer affairs director.

Once a medical need has been established, Noonan said, a "medical emergency certification" is applied to the account for 60 days. During that time, she said, no utility may be terminated without specific permission from the PUC.

Graves said emergency certification for 18 Charles St. expired "sometime in the early spring'' and wasn't renewed.

"Our practice is if the certification expires, we notify the customer in writing that it is about to expire or has expired," he said. "Without proof or notice that there is (an ongoing) medical condition at that address, there is no way for us to know."

Despite precautions taken by utilities, there were two incidents in a week. On Thursday, just days after Phaneuf's situation made headlines, Public Service of New Hampshire mistakenly disconnected power to a Merrimack home where Barbara Castillo, 50, relies on an oxygen machine while she sleeps.

PSNH spokesman Martin Murray said Castillo had a valid medical emergency certification, but a computer glitch applied the certificate to only one of two meters at her home. Power was disconnected in error for a short period Thursday, but Castillo was unharmed.

Because of that incident, PSNH is examining how emergency certification is handled, Murray said, so that something similar to the Merrimack shut-off doesn't happen in the future.

PUC Executive Director Debra Howland said her agency has no record of an intentional power disconnection leading to a hospitalization or a death in at least the past 15 years.

Howland said the PUC has opened an investigation into the Salem incident and has asked for a full report from National Grid by Wednesday.

Friday morning, Lynch asked the commission to take things a step further. In a letter to PUC Chairman Thomas Getz, the governor asked for a broad review of power shut-off procedures for all utility companies in the state.

"This review should include an assessment of the adequacy of policies and safeguards related to power shut-offs and a determination of whether those policies are being rigorously adhered to by New Hampshire's utility companies," he wrote.

Lynch wants a complete report with recommendations by July 30.

Howland said the commission will collect and compare disconnect policies from all state utilities to examine what works and what doesn't.

"I think what we really want to do is look at the best practices between utilities and then look and see if there is a uniform policy that could be applied across utilities," she said.

Graves, the National Grid spokesman, said the Salem incident has prompted his company to begin its own in-house evaluation.

"This has sparked us to re-examine what our policies are to see if there's anything we could've done that would've prevented the shut-off of service to the house," Graves said. "We still have found we are in compliance with state regulations and our own existing policies, but the question is what we can do to be better."

From: http://theunionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=NH+woman+dies+after+power+cut+to+home&articleId=a9d45643-bcd3-4eea-9705-f9fb8417ffbb