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Domestic-violence survivor asks PUC to transfer joint energy debt off her safe account
Summary
Jennifer Kleinfelter urged the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada to enforce state community-property law and transfer a delinquent energy balance from a new account at her confidential address back to the joint account tied to her former home.
Jennifer Kleinfelter, who said she was formerly known as Jennifer Shealy, told the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada on Aug. 13 that Nevada Energy placed a delinquent balance from a joint account onto a new account she opened after fleeing an abusive spouse.
Kleinfelter said she moved to a confidential safe address after a violent attack in August and opened a separate energy account in her name. She said the account tied to her former home went delinquent after her ex stopped paying and Nevada Energy “closed the account and put the entire balance to my new account, my safe address,” where she was recovering from trauma.
The commission’s public-comment period allows speakers three minutes; Kleinfelter used hers to ask the commission to enforce state law on community property and to require her former spouse to share responsibility for the debt. “I’m asking for Joshua to be equally responsible,” she told commissioners, and asked the commission to “assist[] in getting this debt transferred back to a joint account with both myself and Mr. Shealy until the balance is paid off.”
Kleinfelter said she paid energy bills at both addresses from September through January while recovering, and that Nevada Energy customer-service staff had told her the situation was a “civil issue.” She cited Nevada law on community property in her remarks and asked the commission to hold her former spouse financially accountable for what she described as consequences of his criminal conduct.
During consideration of agenda item 4A, which staff characterized as a civil dispute under the utilities tariff, Commissioner Cordova thanked Kleinfelter for speaking and said the presentation helped the commission better understand the case. The commission subsequently voted to accept staff recommendations and issue the order tied to agenda item 4A.
The commission did not direct staff publicly during the meeting to transfer the debt or to take enforcement action against Nevada Energy beyond issuing the order for the agenda item; the minutes record the commission’s vote to accept staff recommendations for 4A.
