Duke Energy has disconnected us for nonpayment after failing to charge our automatic billing account for 8+ months. Over the past year my partner has been dealing with huge medical upheaval/bills and we had assumed the power charges were just coming out along with everything else (over $6k in appointments, MRI imaging, neuro-specialists, etc). Duke is now unwilling to work with us because the account is disconnected, and are demanding $1,250 to turn the account back on.

My partner Valentin uses a BiPAP machine and is and risk of suffocation as he sleeps if he cannot use his machine. He has an AHI of 106, meaning he chokes and stops breathing 106 times an hour while trying to sleep. He is in the 1% of people with central sleep apnea, meaning his brain stops telling him to breathe when he sleeps. His BiPAP is a life saving instrument.

Normally, this kind of bill wouldn’t be as devastating, but I have used the majority of my personal funds to aid in relief with the floods in WNC. My entire family is from the Little River/Buncombe area and I have been bringing supplies (both donated and bought with my own funds) including insulin, clean water, camp showers, PPE, chainsaws, food, autism sensory care boxes, diapers adult and child, lumbering equipment, gas and propane, from Durham to communities across WNC every week since Helene hit.

As such, I am depleted as far as finances go and have no way to make up this difference in the time needed to have our power up and running. We are hoping to meet this goal within the next month, and have been using car battery power banks as a solution in the interim.

Thank you for your help. Any extra raised will go towards the same energy account as a fail safe so this will not happen again.