Some of the nation’s biggest utilities have shut off power to nearly 1 million customers during the pandemic, all while rolling in millions of dollars of taxpayer-funded bailouts. Six major utilities — NextEra, Duke, Southern Co., Dominion, Exelon, and DTE — account for 94% of all shut offs last year, according to a report by the Center for Biological Diversity and BailoutWatch, released Thursday. The utilities took advantage of loopholes in the CARES Act and Federal Reserve corporate debt buying programs. Of the 16 companies surveyed, nine pulled down a combined $1.25 billion in tax bailouts from the federal government and all but one could have covered all the costs of their customers unable to pay their bills. In multiple instances, last year’s utility CEO bonuses alone were greater than the costs of preventing shutoffs in the middle of the pandemic. (Earther, Mic)