Did you all read the same article that I read? First off, the man was $1000 in arrears. That's two to three months behind on his electric bill. Second, the man had $600,000!!!! Why didn't he pay his bill? Third, virtually every power company will work with their customers to help them keep their power on. Finally, Michigan has a HEAP program that would have helped him.
Sounds to me like this was the man's fault, but go ahead and blame the power company if you like.