Heat wave gives people more time to get accounts current: A state utility regulator says a rule is kicking in that prevents electric utilities from cutting off customers when the heat index is at least 105 degrees. The same rule by the Public Service Commission also stops electricity and natural gas cutoffs when winter temperatures drop below 32 degrees. PSC member Foster Campbell says heat indexes of 105 to 110 degrees are expected across much of the state through Tuesday. Campbell says the 2007 PSC rule requires utilities to allow customers extra time to bring their accounts current. The National Weather Service has said hot weather likely will persist across the state through the weekend.
Sign of slow hiring: The number of job postings didn’t increase in May, a sign that hiring is unlikely to pick up this summer. Employers advertised 3 million job openings, the Labor Department says. That was the same amount as in April and down from 3.1 million in March. May’s figure is higher than the 2.1 million job openings posted in July 2009, one month after the recession ended and the lowest total since the government began recording the data a decade ago. But it is also significantly below the 4.4 million openings recorded in December 2007, when the recession began. The Conference Board, a business research group, said last month that online job postings dropped 2.3% to 4.4 million in June. The two reports signal that a weak stretch of hiring this spring may extend into the summer.
