As with other articles released this week, CBS3 Philly reports on the Pennsylvania PUC's decision to lift the moratorium on utility disconnections this coming April 1st. The decision follows pressures from utility representatives, who claim there is now federal assistance available to renters to cover utility bills. The PUC has agree to resume disconnections if and when low-income customers continue to receive protections usually awarded to them (payment plans, subsidies, etc.). The current move on the part of the PUC and the assumptions made by utility personnel underscore the divide that exists between people who have relatively not struggled during this pandemic and households who have faced the repercussions of the economic, social, and health crises that are still ongoing.
CBS3 Philly, "COVID In Pennsylvania: Commonwealth To Lift Last Moratorium On Utility Shutoffs", contributed by Briana Leone, The Energy Rights Project, Platform for Experimental Collaborative Ethnography, last modified 17 March 2021, accessed 24 April 2024. https://energyrights.info/content/covid-pennsylvania-commonwealth-lift-last-moratorium-utility-shutoffs
Critical Commentary
As with other articles released this week, CBS3 Philly reports on the Pennsylvania PUC's decision to lift the moratorium on utility disconnections this coming April 1st. The decision follows pressures from utility representatives, who claim there is now federal assistance available to renters to cover utility bills. The PUC has agree to resume disconnections if and when low-income customers continue to receive protections usually awarded to them (payment plans, subsidies, etc.). The current move on the part of the PUC and the assumptions made by utility personnel underscore the divide that exists between people who have relatively not struggled during this pandemic and households who have faced the repercussions of the economic, social, and health crises that are still ongoing.