HANNIBAL, MO. -- A Hannibal man says he's fed up with high utility bills and he's out to make a difference.

Gary Swanson had his electricity shut off at 9:00 Monday morning.

Power was later restored as Swanson had paid the bill.

But that didn't stop him from making his voice be heard.

Why are your bills so high?

Gary Swanson says, "I don't know. I do not know. I come from Monroe City, my total bill there was $160.00 for everything. We move here and the first bill we got was like $350.00, then $450.00, then $550.00, then $600.00. We're not doing nothing different."

Swanson is doing something different. He's letting the Hannibal Community knows he's upset. After getting his power turned off Monday, he had a sign made and decided to stand on the corner of Third and Broadway, a busy intersection in Hannibal.

Swanson says, "Just trying to do something to have them stop with the crazy bills."

Swanson also has signs in front of his one bedroom home he shares with his wife and two sons. Swanson says he's on disability and only gets $800.00 a month. When the majority of that goes to the utility bill, there's not much left over. He also adds his family has a refrigerator. There is no washer, no dryer, not even a stove.

Robert Stevenson says, "We're not at liberty to forgive those bills. So we have to get harsh to try to collect. People file for bankruptcy, and we lose out. Every other customer ends up picking up the shortage. That's not fair to all the other customers."

Robert Stevenson is the General Manager for the Hannibal Board of Public Works. He says he sympathizes with Mr. Swanson, but equates the issue to pulling up to a gas station. He says when you leave the lot, you're expected to pay for the gas. If you drive off, you've committed a crime. He says by not paying for the utilities, it's essentially the same issue.

Stevenson says, "In the past, we've tried to be compassionate, and try to find ways to help these special cases. What we have found happens is, we get taken advantage of."

And the bills continue to grow every month. Stevenson says the Board of Public Works is a government agency that's essentially ran by the people. Gary Swanson is one of those people. He says he wants another power company to come to town to keep rates low so his bills won't be so unaffordable.

We also remind you to check with social service agencies, like NECAC.

If they have money available, they can help you with updating your home to be more energy efficient.

We checked with NECAC and they are still taking applications for this program.