utilities

What to Do When You Can’t Pay Your Utility Bill

This brief article concisely summarizes available options for people and households in need of bill assistance. Prior to providing information on bill assistance, however, this article goes into an all-familiar step-by-step on how to change our household behaviors to reduce energy expenditure....Read more

Essential Utility Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond: A Roadmap to Utility Service as a Human Right

This brief was put together by several non-profit, advocating agencies for human rights. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the new precarious conditions many households have been thrust into, agencies like the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) and The Utility Reform Network (TURN), among...Read more

Pa. to Lift Last Coronavirus-Induced Moratorium on Utility Shutoffs

As a year from the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic comes to a close, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission is deciding to lift the moratorium on disconnection it had put in place to protect the Commonwealth's residents. This decision comes from pressures exerted by the utilities on...Read more

As End of Utility Shutoff Moratorium Nears, SNAP Fears Rush of Requests for Assistance

SNAP directors are urging those in crisis to apply right away whilst asking those who can cope to wait a little longer before applying. The question here is: is it ethical to ask anyone who needs help (regardless of critical or non-critical status) to wait to apply? Shouldn't it be the...Read more

Caught in a patchwork of policies and pledges, some utility customers may still be awaiting electricity restoration or racking up fees

This article reports on the state of disconnections across the United States in March 2020. One of the major points of the article is that, although many states have suspended utility shut-offs during the pandemic (sometimes for an unspecified length of time) there is little data on whether...Read more

Report: Black households spend almost 50 percent more on utilities than white households

Echoing the topics of discussions in the headlines, this article talks about the impending end of state moratoria. Citing studies like the American Housing Survey, the article discusses disproportionate impacts felt by low-income communities as COVID-19 has compounded their already-precarious...Read more

Has COVID-19 changed other weekly/monthly expenses or created new expenses?

It's changed gasoline because I don't have to drive as often, so that's been less. But of course, there's more heat required and more electricity and water usage, so all utilities are going up. Read more

New York And Connecticut Call For Probes Into Utility Companies' Response To Isaias

This article is another article that talks about governors investigating utilities' poor responses. That said, this article also mentions Connecticut and New York declaring states of emergency in order to speed up assistance to communities most hardly hit by the storm. That said, we should also...Read more

A Lawsuit Challenges the Tennessee Valley Authority’s New Program of ‘Never-Ending’ Contracts

This article talks about the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) locking 142 of 151 utilities into never-ending contracts, with stipulations to back out of their contracts with 20-year notices. This would essentially prevent many utilities from changing their contracts and power sources to...Read more

Eversource was on a victory lap. Then came Isaias

With Isaias reaping havoc in the Northeast, many would have expected utilities to better respond to the storm that caused thousands of households to be left without power. While Eversource representatives said their response was prompt and relative to the emergency level that had been declared,...Read more

NYS Senate & Assembly to hold joint legislative hearing on utilities' 'failure' during recent storm

This article talks about the repercussions felt in New York as tropical storm Isaias hit the Northeast region. Discussions of payments made to and investments made by utilities question the nature of the improvements made as told by energy providers. Utilities also defend their strategies by...Read more

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