Helping neighbors and contributing to communities is great! Getting taken for a ride by a utility company isn't either of those things. The relationship with their utility company is literally contractual. They make you sign a contract! A contract with very bad terms. They're pushing some of the typical costs of running their business onto their customers, leaving them entirely responsible in the event that anything goes wrong, even when their customers do nothing wrong and have no control over the situation, and they are making the customer pay them for the privilege while not being legally obligated to provide anything in return.

Also yes, paying taxes should entitle someone to basic minimums like the ability to pay for clean drinking water delivered to your tap, and reliable power delivered to your home. We aren't a developing country, we're the richest nation on Earth. The extent of the "effort on my part" should be limited to signing up with the utility company and paying my bills every month. Everything else is their job. It's what they are paid for. What "effort on your part" are you making in your life to help your water company? Your cable company?