October 30, 2020

Because of the advocacy of our partners, 1,700 community members who submitted their written comments to Washington’s Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC), and those who testified during the public hearing on October 6th, we have won a huge component in our utility campaign - customers of Puget Sound Energy (and other customers of Washington energy investor-owned utilities) are guaranteed connection to service until April 30, 2021. It's possible that the shut-off moratorium will be extended if the pandemic and economic crisis persists.

In addition, Governor Inslee announced an extension of the utility shut-off moratorium until December 31, 2020. This includes all water and telecommunications utilities, as well as municipal and cooperative energy utilities not regulated by the UTC.

What we're still fighting for: Utilities to pay their fair share

The fight is not over. While we have prevented immediate disconnection, we need to create long term supports to protect low-income households from inequitably shouldering the costs of the pandemic. We demand:

• Erasure of the utility debt of low-income households. 
• Requirement of utilities to pay their fair share. Last year, Washington’s five investor-owned utilities - which includes Puget Sound Energy - paid their top executives a total of $51 million. Yet utilities would like their customers to pay for the costs incurred in this pandemic in the form of higher rates. This needs to change!