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North Bay seniors say they struggle to keep warm in their apartment complex, face costly PG&E bills

Seniors in North Bay apartment say they’re struggling to stay warm
Seniors in North Bay apartment say they’re struggling to stay warm 03:50

As the weather in the Bay Area turns colder, residential power bills are on the rise, and with recent rate increases, many homeowners are getting an unpleasant surprise.  

But one group of seniors in the North Bay are facing some tough choices as they struggle to stay warm in their own homes.

The Villas at Hamilton offers affordable apartments for seniors in Novato. Built in 1934, the stately building was once base housing for the Hamilton Airfield.  

The apartments have ceilings 11 feet high and large windows, and Katie Herlevic said she loves living in her one-bedroom unit.

"The only negative thing is the PG&E bill," she said.  "In the summer, it's only about $25 or $30 a month."  

But her bill last month was much more costly.

"I believe it was about $350," she said.

And that's after the PG&E low-income discount. That's because, in the winter the small apartments can be almost impossible to heat. The cinderblock walls have no insulation and temperatures stay in the high 50s, with only a small electric wall heater to warm the main rooms.  

So, like a lot of residents, she plugs in a portable heater.

"And once I pay my electric bill, I don't have a lot left over," said Katie.  "So, it's a choice between paying my electric bill and having necessities like food. I don't eat. I choose to pay my bill."

"I tell people that these buildings were not designed for seniors.  In the winter, it's like a freezer," said Ovi Martinez.  

His studio apartment is even smaller, but it has even larger windows and he tries to seal gaps in them with blue painter's tape. The building was renovated in the early 2000s and many of the windows simply won't keep out the cold air.

So, he too uses space heaters including one in his bathroom.

"It's warmer outside than inside the apartments," he said.

"We're old. We're cold. And we're getting the cold shoulder from anybody that we ask help from," said Terry Graham, who has been dealing with a frigid apartment for 10 years.

Graham discovered that the law requires apartments to be able to maintain 70 degrees at a height of 3 feet. But she said she doubts that's possible with the wall units provided.

"The landlords have to provide heating in every unit, and this is the heater that has been placed in a studio apartment," Graham said.  "It's a wall heater, turns on but has no thermostat attached. A lot of them don't have fans. This type of heater is just completely blasting us into a horribly high PG&E bill."

She said the city is ignoring her complaints. The buildings' heating systems met code requirements when they were renovated in 2003, and Graham said the city has refused to look into the situation any further.  

So, like everyone else, the tenants simply pay the bill and do anything they can to try to stay warm. But Ovi suspects there may be an even higher price being paid.

"I wonder how many people will die here because of the consequences of the apartment," he said. "So many people go to the hospital. Some never come back. I've been wondering for a lot of years."

We talk about inflation as though it's an economic problem. But for those who are most impacted by the high price of energy, it is literally affecting every minute of their lives.

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