On July 28th, the Governor’s moratorium on utility shut-offs expires. At that point, households with past-due utility bills could see all of their bills come due at once, or see their critical services including energy, water, internet, or phone service shut off.
The Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC), which regulates all investor-owned utilities in Washington State, is developing regulations to guide utility service and consumer protections for the duration of the pandemic. We believe that our access to these basic services should not be determined by our race, our income, our gender, our ability, our citizenship status, or the language we speak at home.
We demand that the UTC:
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- Develop an indefinite moratorium on utility shut-offs. The pandemic will likely extend beyond this year. Economic recovery will surely take longer. We need to ensure that all Washingtonians have access to utilities for the duration of the pandemic and through recovery.
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- Pass utility debt erasure for poor and low-income households that would erase utility debt accrued since the start of the pandemic and through recovery.
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- Institute 4-6% of income arrearage payment plans for households. “Arrearage” is a term referring to money that is owed or overdue. We’re advocating for payment plans where households with overdue utility bills pay a maximum of 4-6% of their monthly income to their utility bill. After 12 months of consecutive payments, the rest of the debt would be forgiven.
To take action, send an email to the UTC by July 1.
In the email body, include the above demands and share your story about why utility service is crucial to you and your community. Send your email by July 1st to records@utc.wa.gov. Make sure to include the docket number U-200281 in the subject line and body of the email.
photo by the Detroit Free Press