Elderly man freezes to death after power curbed

subscribe

A 93-year-old man froze to death inside his home just days after the municipal power company restricted his use of electricity because of unpaid bills, officials said.

Neighbours discovered Marvin Schur's body on January 17. The windows were frosted over, icicles hung from a faucet, and the 93-year-old World War II veteran lay dead on the bedroom floor in a winter jacket over four layers of clothing.

Schur's death was slow and painful, said Dr. Kanu Virani, who performed the autopsy.

Schur owed Bay City Electric Light & Power more than $1,000 in unpaid electric bills, Bay City manager Robert Belleman said.

A city utility worker had installed a "limiter" device to restrict the use of electricity at Schur's home on January 13, Belleman said. The device limits power reaching a home and blows out like a fuse if consumption rises past a set level. Power is not restored until the device is reset.

The limiter was tripped sometime between the time of installation and the discovery of Schur's body, Belleman said. He didn't know if anyone had made personal contact with Schur to explain how the device works.

Related News

EU Flag

No deal Brexit could trigger electricity shock for Northern Ireland

LONDON - Such a scenario could see thousands of electricity generators being requisitioned at short notice and positioned on barges in the Irish Sea to help keep the region going, a Whitehall document quoted by the Financial Times states.

An emergency operation could see equipment being brought back from places like Afghanistan, where the UK still has a military presence, the newspaper said.

The extreme situation could arise because Northern Ireland shares a single energy market with the Irish Republic.

The region relies on energy imports from the Republic because it does not have enough generating capacity itself, and the UK is aiming…

READ MORE
pge bankruptcy

PG&E's bankruptcy plan wins support from wildfire victims

READ MORE

ns rate increase

Nova Scotia Premier calls on regulators to reject 14% electricity rate hike agreement

READ MORE

riverbend nuclear power plant

NRC Begins Special Inspection at River Bend Nuclear Power Plant

READ MORE

towers

Alberta Introduces New Electricity Rules

READ MORE