Story Photos
 Havana Nasserghandi speaks during a Cowlitz PUD commissioners’ meeting on Tuesday. Bill Wagner / The Daily News
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Longview woman presses PUD over new rate for the disabled
Thursday, January 24, 2008 5:31 AM PST
By Erick Olson
Printable version
E-mail this articleHavana Nasserghandi wears two or three sweaters, a stocking cap and a scarf when she kicks back in her duplex north of St. John Medical Center in Longview.
It's cold outside, and it's almost as cold inside because Nasserghandi can't afford to turn up the heat. She lives on a fixed state disability income, so she tries to save money where she can.
So when she heard about a new Cowlitz PUD program that offers disabled ratepayers discounts as high as 20 percent - about $135 per year - she wanted to know where to sign.
But there was a catch: Nasser-ghandi has been a Cowlitz PUD ratepayer for eight months, four months short of the PUD's eligibility requirement for the assistance program. Nasserghandi doesn't think that's fair to disabled people who are just regaining independence, such as those who may have left an abusive relationship or relocated from Community House on Broadway, Longview's homeless shelter.
"I feel deprived of what I'm actually entitled to," she said.
Nasserghandi has obsessive compulsive disorder. It's a disability with no physical symptoms - no wheelchair, no seeing eye dog, no walking cane. She wonders if she would have less of a struggle with the PUD if her disability were more obvious to the casual observer.
Nasserghandi said she is upset because she's been made to feel like she doesn't deserve the disability status accorded by the discount. And she wants Cowlitz PUD officials to know about it.
"How many disabled people left your office crying because they haven't been able to get the help they thought they could get?" Nasserghandi asked the three-member PUD commission at its regular business meeting Tuesday.
She added that she has signed a 12-month lease for her apartment, which indicates she intends to stay for a full year.
The discount program is unfairly biased against people who have been disabled for years but recently moved to Cowlitz County, she said. She thinks the PUD capitalizes on the good PR of the program without providing the service to everyone who needs it.
The PUD launched the program for disabled, low-income ratepayers in October, PUD spokesman Dave Andrew said. Disabled citizens can receive rate reductions of 10 percent or 20 percent, depending on their income level.
So far, 130 people have signed up for the program, according to the PUD. Applications for this year's program can be submitted through March. Another application period will be held September through November through the Lower Columbia Community Action Program, Andrew said. Nasserghandi would qualify for assistance next winter.
Eleven of the 21 PUDs in Washington that offer residential service have a similar program for disabled ratepayers, according to Cowlitz PUD. The discounts vary from 10 percent to 30 percent.
Andrew said he couldn't find another utility in the state with a similar residency requirement, but he defends the PUD rule. It's a safeguard against any fraudulent claims, such as using an elderly or disabled parent to obtain the discount, he said. After all, the cost is borne by the rest of the utility's rate payers, he said.
"We want to make sure a customer is getting it who truly deserves it," Andrew said. He added that he did not question whether Nasserghandi qualified.
Nevertheless, Nasser-ghandi said she was "offended" by that explanation. Instead of punishing everyone, the PUD should just prosecute those who make false claims, she said.
"I think what he said was that poor people cheat, poor people steal," she said after the meeting.
The PUD commissioners decided to review the program late this summer. They acknowledged the program is new and imperfect.
"The points you bring up today will maybe not help you but will help others down the road," Commissioner Mark McCrady told Nasserghandi.
For now, Nasserghandi will continue to don her three sweaters inside her apartment at night.
"It's like camping when you go to my house."
to Havana Nasserghandi wrote on Feb 8, 2008 9:12 AM:
Whoa now... wrote on Feb 8, 2008 10:35 AM:
I thought you guys would use better judgement. "
re:Whoa now... wrote on Feb 8, 2008 12:15 PM:
Methinks wrote on Feb 9, 2008 5:09 PM:
Whoa now... wrote on Feb 11, 2008 9:16 AM:
re Whoa now... wrote on Feb 11, 2008 1:50 PM:
Dumb wrote on Feb 11, 2008 9:20 PM:
not disabled wrote on Feb 11, 2008 10:49 PM:
Banana wrote on Feb 12, 2008 6:40 AM:
Whoa now... wrote on Feb 12, 2008 7:58 AM:
if you only knew wrote on Feb 12, 2008 12:05 PM:
re:if you only new wrote on Feb 13, 2008 1:34 AM:
Karen wrote on Feb 14, 2008 1:32 PM:
re: re:if you only new wrote on Feb 15, 2008 6:18 AM:
I was in no way saying that one disabilities is more severe then the other, my comment was that OCD is very real, alot of people think its a fake disorder, and a attention getter, when in fact it is not. "
re:re:re:if you only new wrote on Feb 15, 2008 9:54 AM:
Joyce Lamb wrote on Feb 16, 2008 7:41 AM:
re:Joyce Lamb wrote on Feb 17, 2008 4:12 PM:
PUD customer wrote on Feb 21, 2008 3:54 AM:
"
The Sun's Out! wrote on Feb 22, 2008 7:20 PM:
Casey wrote on Feb 22, 2008 8:04 PM:
WOW. You're entitled to the discount AFTER TWELVE MONTHS. That's IT! It would be awesome if I could change rules and regulations for things as I see fit, but unfortunately that's just not the way it works.
Be thankful the discount is even available to you. Please make sure to send the PUD a thank you card at Christmas when you have a few extra dollars in your pocket. "
In Summary wrote on Feb 23, 2008 6:08 PM:
Feel the flames... wrote on Feb 23, 2008 11:15 PM:
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