Extreme heat is turning electricity cutoffs into new political battle for power companies
A window air conditioner unit is seen on the side of an apartment building in Arlington, Virginia, July 10, 2023.
Saul Loeb | Afp | Getty Images
If you are in Virginia sweltering and falling behind on your utility bill, you will have additional options to keep the air conditioner humming, but not until July 1. That’s when Virginia joins the small but growing ranks of states protecting disconnects during extreme heat. Such protections have been around for cold weather for decades, but as the global rise in temperatures hits records, advocates say more must be done to shield customers from having utilities cut; often, existing legislation isn’t enough.
Virginia State Senator Lashrecse Aird, (D-Petersburg), a legislative sponsor of the state’s new utility bills law, said her support for the legislation was rooted in her own experience of having utilities disconnected when she was younger. “It was not a pleasant experience,” Aird said. “And I carry that with me.”
Now, she says, the stakes are higher.
“We have to account for extreme heat outside the normal months of the year that are increasingly hotter now,” Aird said. “As long as we continue to fail to address climate change and increased temperatures, we have to be deliberate and intentional,” she said, and she added that implies the need for protective laws. “Our country is on fire; the world is on fire. I predict we will see more places experiencing heat crises and heat emergencies. We need to have these policies in place; that is where we are heading from a pure weather standpoint.”
The Virginia law, which Aird said the utilities “fought tooth and nail,” forbids disconnections when the temperature exceeds 92 degrees. Regardless of temperature, the bill also prohibits power companies from performing utility shutoffs on Fridays, holidays, state holidays, or days immediately preceding a state holiday. Such shutoffs could leave someone without power for a prolonged period while the utility’s customer service office is closed.
“We had to write those in because we found that is what was happening,” Aird said. “They did not want to have the state spell out their process for reconnection. Everyone has a different administrative structure.”
A grim national outlook for power protections
Too many states have no protections from utility company disconnects for consumers, according to David Konisky, a professor in the environmental studies department at Indiana University and director of the Energy Justice Lab, and he says climate change is forcing a new conversation about the issue.
The Energy Justice Lab created a “Disconnect Dashboard” showing utility disconnect data in each state (not every state reports data) and existing shutoff-shielding legislation, if any, in place. Part of making the dashboard was overlaying forecast excessive heat days along with protections that exist or don’t exist and factoring in climate change. The outlook is grim, Konisky says. Nearly three million people have their electricity shut off annually because they cannot afford to pay monthly bills, according to the Energy Justice Lab.
“There are two ways to think about it: how hot is it going to get today, yes, but what is really dangerous is when it does not cool off at night, when you have a persistent period of warm nights, when people are unable to cool their bodies, that is when you have high incidents of heat exhaustion,” Konisky said, adding that lack of cooling like air conditioning exacerbates it.
Legislation like Virginia’s is welcome, but often, the laws don’t go far enough, according to Konisky. They are typically limited to state-regulated power companies (Virginia’s is more expansive than other states’) or have subjective or ambiguous disconnection criteria. Konisky says utility customers must work with them instead of being cut off.
Covid-19 led many states to issue temporary orders during stay-at-home mandates to require power to remain on, but most of these orders have been gradually eliminated. A majority of states (40) have statutory-based utility disconnection protections that cover specific times of year and vulnerable populations, according to the Energy Justice Lab.
As of 2021, 29 states had seasonal protections and 23 had temperature-based disconnection protections, but Konisky’s research shows that these do not fully prohibit disconnections, often putting the onus on customers to demonstrate eligibility for an exemption, such as medical need. Most states (46), plus Washington D.C., give customers the option to set up a payment plan as an alternative to disconnection, though interest may be steep and income-based repayment is not often an option.
Power transmission lines in Hyattsville, Maryland, US, on Monday, June 17, 2024. While summer doesn’t officially start until Thursday, across the US more than 120 daily high temperature records may be broken or tied, with the majority of them in the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and New England, the US Weather Prediction Center said.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
“A lot could be done to make energy more affordable where a shut off is necessary,” Konisky said. “There is creative rate making, payment structures. They need to be more aggressive in offering payment plans, as opposed to shutting off, help customers access energy assistance. There are a lot of activities that would be advisable and preferable before we engage in the practice of shutoffs which can have terrible consequences for people.”
His research shows that power companies disconnect plenty during warm weather. Using publicly available data, he found that Indiana customers, for instance, experienced 50,000 disconnects between June and August 2023. “So they are happening during the very warm months,” Konisky said. “This situation is likely to get worse, particularly in states where we would not have historically worried about it during the summer.”
Heat dome conditions hit more states
One of the states where, historically, one would have not had to worry as much about heat is Oregon. But don’t tell that to residents bracing for 90-degree days this week. When Brandi Tuck, executive director of Portland-based social services organization Path Home, moved to Oregon 20 years ago, the state was known for its temperate climate of mild winters and cool summers. Not anymore.
“We never heard the term ‘heat dome,’” Tuck said, referring to a once-obscure meteorological term that has morphed into a new term for a heat wave.
“As climate change occurs, we are getting hotter and hotter summers, and we get heat domes here. We had one last summer that resulted in deaths; it gets intense,” Tuck said. In 2021, Portland reached a searing 117 degrees during a fierce heatwave. On the other end of the spectrum, Tuck said Oregon is experiencing longer, colder winters. Oregon does have laws in place to protect utility customers during cold snaps, but not during heat waves. “The challenge is we have commodified life-sustaining requirements. We are a first-world development country, but we have commodified things like power, air-conditioning, and lighting,” Tuck said.
Path Home often helps those facing imminent power disconnects. Power cuts in rental properties, Tuck says, are often followed by evictions, and helping with utilities is one of the most cost-effective ways to prevent homelessness. As Oregon’s weather swings, Tuck says the power companies cannot be depended on to police themselves.
“We need legislation,” Tuck said.
Disconnects hit the lowest-income people disproportionately hard, and people already struggling to pay their utility bills are often charged a “reconnect fee,” or a deposit after a cutoff. In Ohio, for instance, the utility may require you to pay a deposit of up to one month’s estimated charges plus 30%.
These costs can be a problem for those who get disconnected. Felix Russo, pastor of the New Life Mission in Hamilton, Ohio, says that by the time needy people come to him to help with their utilities, they are usually days away from having their power disconnected. Russo then calls the power companies and tries to negotiate on behalf of the person or tries to match them with a social service agency that can provide funds. But it’s an uphill battle. “All of our systems are strained,” Russo said.
Utilities say electricity cutoffs ‘a last resort’
Power companies insist that disconnections are a last resort and that additional legislation and regulation aren’t needed.
“We understand our customers may face financial hardships throughout the year, so I want to be clear that disconnecting customers for non-payment is an absolute last resort,” said Aaron Ruby, manager of media relations for Dominion Energy, the main power supplier in Virginia. He said that Dominion has numerous bill payment assistance options to help customers avoid disconnections, including budget billing, extended payment plans, EnergyShare bill payment assistance, and home weatherization programs. The EnergyShare program, for example, Ruby said, offers up to $600 a year in heating assistance and $300 a year in cooling assistance for eligible customers.
Ruby said that Dominion Energy has already started complying with the new law, dispelling fears that they would initiate a rash of disconnections before July 1.
“Disconnects for nonpayment were suspended Tuesday and Wednesday in observation of Juneteenth, and we will continue monitoring the forecast for the upcoming heat wave,” Ruby said, adding that they will comply with the new law. “We will comply with the law and suspend nonpayment-related disconnects in parts of our service area where forecasted temperatures reach 92 degrees or higher.”
A spokesperson for Charlotte-based Duke Energy, the nation’s second-largest utility company, said it has “long-standing policies to temporarily suspend disconnecting a customer’s service for nonpayment to help protect our customers,” on days when the weather is expected to be extremely hot or extremely cold. Duke monitors extreme weather events such as hurricanes or winter storms, evaluates them case-by-case, and temporarily suspends disconnection for nonpayment.
From Virginia legislator Aird’s perspective, legislation is needed not just for the customer but also to protect the power companies from themselves, a point she made in the starkest terms. “Your goal at the end of the day is to have a customer and give someone the ability to pay; if they are dead, then the power company doesn’t have a customer.”
The new legislation doesn’t go far enough to ensure people’s safety in extreme weather, according to Aird, but it was a good first step. “We erred on the side of something is better than nothing,” Aird said.
The first all-new compact Mopar since the malaise-era K-Car, the Dodge Neon was a revelation. Its fun, approachable face, its “Hi.” marketing campaign, all of it was pitch-perfect for the uncertain times it was launched into. Now, a generation later, Stellantis faces similarly uncertain times – and a new Neon could go a long way towards helping the old Chrysler Co. do what it does best: come back from the brink.
If they wanted to, Stellantis could make it happen tomorrow.
Today, Stellantis is in trouble. Much like it was in the early 90s, the company is hemorrhaging cash, fighting with the unions, and struggling to sell higher-end cars. Today as then, what the company needs is an affordable, simple new car to get people in the showrooms – and in 1994, that new car was the Neon.
In the mid-late 1990s, the Dodge Neon was everywhere. It was affordable, fun to drive, and more or less reliable. It was also economical and fuel-efficient, but it wasn’t that way. It was sold as a fun, smiling face with funky round lights. In R/T and ACR spec, it was sold as an even more fun, smiling face, and offered serious performance chops that still get the grizzled Gen X guys at the SCCA/NASA track days excited.
Stellantis is selling a car right now, today, that meets all that criteria. It’s the right size, it’s reasonably affordable, and it’s got the right tech – available as both a PHEV and a pure EV – for its time.
It’s even got some funky round lights!
Lancia Ypsilon HF
| Spec | SOHC Neon | DOHC Neon | Hybrid Y | EV Y | HF Y |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wheelbase (mm) | 2642 | 2642 | 2675 | 2675 | 2675 |
| Overall Length (mm) | 4366 | 4366 | 4080 | 4080 | 4080 |
| Engine Size (L) | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.2 | NA | NA |
| HP | 132–136 | 150 | 100 | 156 | 280 |
| TQ (lb-ft) | 129–133 | 133 | 129 | 192 | 255 |
| 0–60 mph (s) | 7.6–8.5 | 7.6 | 9.3 | 8.2 | 5.6 |
| MPG (comb.)/EV range | 28 | 28 | ~50 | 425 km | 370 km |
As you can see from the specs, above, the first-gen Neon is pretty close in terms of size and performance, with the modern Ypsilon offering significantly improved emissions, technology, and safety upgrades compared to the OG Neon, which didn’t even offer anti-lock brakes (ABS) as standard on its base or Highline models (it was standard on the Sport and, later, R/T trims).
There’s even a modern allegory for the ultra track-focused ACR version of the Neon, which shipped with its adjustable suspension, anti-sway bars, disc brakes, and close-ratio transmission. That’s the Lancia Ypsilon HF, a 280 HP sporty compact EV that made its debut last week and originally inspired this article.
Check out the original launch ad for the 1995 Plymouth Neon, below, and tell me they couldn’t do a shot-for-shot remake with a rebadged Ypsilon and make it immediately relevant to car buyers in 1995 in the comments.
Plymouth Neon launch commercial from 1994
Original content from Electrek.
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Faraday Future unveiled its upcoming FX Super One MPV on Thursday, which appears to be a rebadged Great Wall Motors Way Gaoshan.
Which brings us to the question: is this how we might see more Chinese EVs make their way to the US?
The EV market in China has grown rapidly in recent years, not just in terms of total sales and revenues for its largest companies, but also in terms of the hundreds of EV companies vying to survive the current highly competitive market there.
But despite massively rising EV sales in the country, EV production is still scaling even faster. This has led to a price war within China due to this glut of cars, and also to Chinese companies seeking more buyers overseas.
These affordable EVs have been shipped around the globe, leading to rapidly rising EV sales in Europe and in the “rest of the world” – though, as of yet, not really in the US. Due to excessive tariffs, the US has made itself into an island where few Chinese EVs are allowed.
The ones that have made their way into the US are those built by Western brands that were bought up by a Chinese conglomerate, like Volvo and Polestar under parent company Geely. Some of their models are assembled in Chinese factories, but most of the ones making their way to the US are built in European or US factories (largely due to the domestic sourcing efforts in Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, creating millions of US jobs which republicans are currently doing their best to send back to China).
BYD has also put out feelers about building a factory in Mexico, but those plans are on pause, ironically because BYD doesn’t want its technology to be stolen by the US (put that one on for some perspective about how far we have fallen behind on EVs, fellow Americans).
But we haven’t yet seen the kind of Chinese EV that the rest of the world is getting – one of those many eye-openingly cheap numbers that could finally bring true affordability to the US market (or bring it back, that is).
That’s due to tariffs, and it’s intentional. There are various arguments given for tariffs’ existence, but they boil down to: the US can’t make cars as cheap as China, and wants to protect its auto industry, and therefore making Chinese EVs more expensive will forestall their entry into the US while we try to get better at making them. I personally find these explanations wanting and consider these tariffs unwise (and they have only gotten more unwise).
But in a world where these tariffs exist, and depending highly on what final form they take, companies will look for ways to minimize their exposure to them and to still bring cars into the US. Much of the EV industry is sourced through China (again, one of the issues the Inflation Reduction Act tried to remedy), so parts will have tariffs on them, in various amounts.
This is where I speculate that the Faraday Future FX Super One could come in. At last night’s unveiling event, it became quite clear that the car is strikingly similar to the Great Wall Motors Wey Gaoshan.
This similarity is not coincidental – Faraday told us that it is working with “a Tier 1 Chinese automotive supplier,” one that we have heard of, to build the FX Super One. That supplier will send stamped bodies to Faraday’s US factory in Hanford, CA, where Faraday will take care of the final assembly.
Faraday didn’t let us take pictures of the interior, even from the outside, but what we saw of the interior on a short ride around the parking lot looked quite similar to the interior of a Wey Gaoshan, just with different controls (for example, the the pull-out fridge in the bottom of this photo is identical to the one I saw in the FX Super One).
Faraday said the interior hasn’t been finalized yet, but also said that it thinks it can have 100-150 cars built by the end of the year. Which is less than half a year away, for a company that has to date built 16 cars (though those it built on its own). So there’s not a lot of time for further changes at this rate.
So, here we have a company that intends to sell a car in the US, much of which originated in China. This seems like it would run afoul of tariffs.
But, depending on how (or if…) these tariffs get edited or finalized, they might be much lower for parts and/or for vehicles that undergo final assembly in the US. So Faraday might be able to get away with importing something very similar to a GWM, doing enough to it here to qualify its way past tariffs, and getting it on the market at a price that doesn’t incorporate the however-many-hundred-percent the US has ridiculously decided to tack on this week.
Faraday also mentioned during its presentations about the FX Super One that it has a US-based software team, which has been at work for some time.
The software in Faraday’s previous vehicle, the FF91, is pretty good, despite being such a low volume vehicle. And it’s gotten much better between the first time I sat in it and when I had a short demo this month of Faraday’s newly-upgraded voice recognition system (now supporting 50+ languages) and swipe gestures for setting volume and HVAC.
We didn’t get to interact with the software on the FX Super One at all, but we would be cautiously optimistic about it based on prior showings.
But more importantly for the purposes of this article, Faraday’s software team is based in the US. And given current US threats to ban any and all Chinese software from vehicles, this too would allow Faraday to swap out some chips and memory cards and make a car perfectly legal from a US perspective.
So it’s possible that Faraday is on to something here, and has found a reasonable way to get Chinese EVs into America, while complying with US law, and while giving the company a much easier way to increase its scale than trying to get numbers up for the slow-growing FF91 project. Faraday does not have the resources to build out mass market manufacturing currently, so this is another option.
Now… this is no $11k Dolphin Seagull, the Wey Gaoshan starts in the mid-$40k range in China, and is considered a luxury model. And here in the US, Faraday is positioning the car as a premium model as well, though hasn’t yet announced pricing or really gotten its messaging straight on whether it’s a mass market vehicle or a VIP/Cadillac Escalade competitor.
But if this is Faraday’s plan, and if the plan works, it could give the US a taste of the EVs that the rest of the world is getting access to, and could show a potential way of getting those cars across the border. There are both pros (competition good, cheaper prices good) and cons (race to the bottom for manufacturing, loss of important American industry) for the US auto market here, so you’ll have to decide which side of that equation you land on, but this could be a harbinger of one way cars from the now-biggest auto exporting country in the world could make their way out into markets that have exhibited hostility to that idea.
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Environment
Review: The tech-forward Meepo Go electric skateboard is a smooth, speedy ride for all [Video]
![Review: The tech-forward Meepo Go electric skateboard is a smooth, speedy ride for all [Video]](https://i0.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/07/Meepo-skateboard-hero.jpg?resize=1200,628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1)
Scooter here, back with another electric mobility review. This time, I tested out the Meepo Go electric skateboard. It is a sturdy, smooth deck designed for riders of all sizes, with some unique tech I had never encountered before. Be sure to check out my full video review below.
The Meepo Go is a versatile skateboard built for everyone
The Go electric skateboard from Meepo comes in one standard design. It usually has an MSRP of $699, but it is currently on sale for $569, so now is an excellent time to buy.
Features at a glance:
- Bamboo and fiberglass deck provides durability, flexibility, and stability, suitable for heavier riders over 200 lbs.
- Impact-resistant plates and a scratch-resistant underside.
- Dual belt drive 1500 watt stator 4230 motors
- 12s2p 345.6WH/8AH battery with flame-retardant and water-resistant protection
- JK-FOC24B Electronic Speed Controller (ESC)
- Offers smooth, jerk-free acceleration with customizable speed and braking settings
- Four-speed modes:
- L: 12 mph (20 km/h)
- E: 20 mph (32 km/h)
- S/S+: 28 mph (45 km/h) (S+ adds faster acceleration)
- Adjustable braking intensity
- Top Speed 28 mph (45 km/h)
- Range: Up to 20 miles (32 km)
- Incline capabilities: 30%
- 2-year warranty
Electrek‘s take
Meepo is an exciting electric skateboard manufacturer whose goal is to make this particular form of travel accessible to anyone and help reduce carbon emissions. You know we love that.
The company has built hundreds of thousands of electric boards, all of which are rigorously tested and constantly revamped for better quality and efficiency. For my first-ever encounter with Meepo, I was sent its Go electric skateboard – a sort of all-in-one deck designed to support heavier riders.
I didn’t realize this was a heavy rider board until I read its description on the website. I don’t think that was the reason Meepo recommended this one, but it’s nice to know I wouldn’t have to worry about breaking the Go for being too heavy (I’m only 200 pounds right now, okay?).
The unboxing was incredibly simple. You first unwrap your shiny new, assembled Meepo Go deck, complete with wheels, trucks, motors, and battery. Below that is some instructions, a charger with cables, a couple of adjustment tools, plus two extra motor belts.
Last but not least is Meepo’s J6S ergonomic remote. According to Meepo, the remote’s upgraded control logic allows riders to double-click to change speed modes, reducing accidental toggles, and can stay connected to the board at a max range of 46 meters.
My full haul is pictured above and in the video below. Zero assembly is required; simply plug and play. The Meepo Go electric skateboard can recharge when fully drained in four hours.
Aside from its sturdy design, thanks to a Bamboo and fiberglass deck, I found the Meepo Go quite aesthetically pleasing. I liked its unique grip tape design and carved-out handle for easier carrying (see below).
Once the Meepo skateboard was fully charged, it was time to power up and take it out for a first spin. My initial impression was just how smooth a ride the Go is, thanks in part to its wheels, which Meepo recently revamped to enable better wet-weather traction and anti-slip capabilities.
The trucks initially took some getting used to as they are 45-degree as opposed to 50-degree on traditional configurations, but once I got used to the difference, I felt much more stable at high speeds and making sharp turns. Meepo also provided a truck tool to tighten or loosen your configuration to your preferences.
The Meepo Go’s dual 4230 brushless motors combine for a total output of 3,000 watts, offering a top speed of up to 28 mph or 45 km/h. While that’s pretty damn fast for an electric skateboard, Meepo said “not so fast” to new riders for their own safety.
Go riders must travel 10 km (6.2 miles) in the lower two “L” and “E” speed modes to unlock the S and S+ modes, which allow the 28 mph top speed and higher acceleration. S mode was honestly too fast for my liking, but it was nice to know I had those speed capabilities whenever I’m feeling saucy. The truth is, at my age and skill level, I’m beyond satisfied cruising and carving around 20 mph.
Luckily, the Meepo Go electric skateboard delivers both speed options and then some.
The Meepo Go also allows you to customize its braking intensity from 0% to 100%. This is a feature I had never personally seen on an electric skateboard that genuinely impressed me. It just adds to the overall smoothness this deck provides on all levels.
As mentioned in the key features above, the Go’s dual motors are powered by an eight-amp-hour battery, which enables an all-electric range of up to 20 miles or 32 km.
Aside from speeds nearing 30 mph, you really feel the Meepo Go’s capability on hills. It was configured to tackle 15-degree (30%) inclines with ease, and having tested it, it’s true.
What may be most impressive about this particular Meepo skateboard is its advanced JKFOC-24B electronic skate controller (ESC), which is essentially the brain of the entire powertrain.
The ESC delivers smooth acceleration with no jerking or lag. It also enables full user customization of acceleration, top speed, and braking sensitivity, so once you get comfortable, you can tailor every aspect of your riding experience to your liking. This is another super cool feature that was new to me personally.
Overall, the Meepo Go is smooth, powerful, and very tech-forward. With more than enough speed, I truly enjoyed the lag-free cruising and carving of the 45-degree trucks and the ease of use of its ergonomic remote.
I was genuinely impressed by the tech used to customize this skateboard, enabling anyone to customize their ride. As such, I’d highly recommend the Meepo Go because of its feel, utility, and universal rideability for virtually everyone, not to mention its competitive pricing.
If you’d like to try out the Meepo Go electric skateboard for yourself, click here. Be sure to check out my full video review below.
Buy a Meepo Go Electric Skateboard
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