Dear Connecticut electric customer: Know your rights

Very shortly, Connecticut’s moratorium on utility shut-offs will end, and then what happens?

Though hope springs eternal, if utility company’s past practices are any indication, things will not go smoothly.

It may be hard to believe, but not all states implemented such shut-off moratoriums during the pandemic, and unpaid utility bills have risen to an estimated $27 billion nationwide, according to Mark Wolfe, executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors' Association. After reviewing shut-off data from around the country, the Center for Biological Diversity said roughly 765,000 households had power cut during the pandemic, with disastrous results. A paper from Duke University estimates that a federal ban (similar to the one in place on evictions) would have reduced COVID-19 infections by 4.4%, and deaths by 7.4%.

Though people have had a safe harbor in Connecticut, local activists and advocates worry about the thousands of state residents who are in jeopardy of having their service terminated after the moratorium is lifted, and customers can’t expect utility companies will help much. The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA), the state agency charged with oversight of investorowned utilities such as electricity and telecommunications companies, even wrote a script for utility customer service representatives – a script that was largely ignored, so customers are not told about existing affordable payment options.

In fact, PURA’s Office of Outreach, Education, and Enforcement (EOE) recently asked to see a record of 20 random calls made to utilities by customers who’d called looking for help. Sadly, customers were not screened for hardship, as they are supposed to be, and they were given bad information as to what the programs are available to them. Some of these customers are clients of Connecticut Legal Services Inc., Connecticut Legal Rights Project, and the Center For Children’s Advocacy, organizations that have done their best to make sure utilities act as they should.

Those organizations aren’t the only ones trying to get utilities to behave. Echoing Gov. Ned Lamont, Senators Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal sent a letter suggesting utilities not be allowed to consider terminating service until they’d complied with previous orders, though the bad behavior predates the pandemic, said Bonnie Roswig, of the Center for Children’s Advocacy. She said that in the winter of 2019, a client brought her newborn back to a house with no electricity. She called the company to say she wasn’t able to pay her bill, only to be told there was nothing that could be done.

“We cannot go to back to that place,” said Roswig. “The utility companies should be following PURA directives so that all residents can access existing protections.”

Recently, because Eversource was not following the state’s orders, PURA’s EOE recommended a fine of $6,000 – which (checking my math here) is roughly the kind of change you’d find in the couch of a company that reported earning $1,205,000,000 last year (up from $909,100,000 the year before, which is a pretty healthy jump no matter your math skills). When activists objected to the paltry amount, the EOE raised it to the maximum violation allowed by law, $10,000 a violation, or $20,000 – still a small amount that just may not serve as any kind of motivation for change. PURA sent notice of the increase this week. The notice said that $19,500 of the fine is supposed to go to Operation Fuel, which spent about $3,291,000 on energy assistance programs last year. The notice also asked that Eversource’s customer service representatives be retrained.

But so far, rulings haven’t really worked, nor have hearings, letters from U.S. senators, and fines, so let me, a good citizen, step in and do what certain utility companies appear incapable of doing:

Dear Connecticut electric company customer:

During this difficult time, you are absolutely protected from having your power shut off. You can take advantage of multiple payment programs that can help you pay your bills, should you fall behind.

All Connecticut utility customers whose income is less than 60% of the state median income are eligible for affordable payment plans. Under many of these plans, if you pay your average monthly bill, the back bill can be wiped out. If you get disability, medical or other help from the state, you may be eligible for an affordable $50per-month plan for a heat bill. Even when we aren’t in the middle of COVID, service cannot be turned off between November 1 and May 1.

In addition, last April PURA announced a COVID-19 payment program for everyone. Even if you make too much money to qualify for an low-incomebased program, you can still take advantage of the COVID payment plan, where your back bill is divided into 24 payments. The program was an acknowledgement that no matter a household income, people could be adversely affected with pandemic shut-downs or slowdowns.

You, the customer, are not supposed to have to ask about specific programs when you call a utility company, but customer service representatives have proven notoriously bad at sharing this information, so feel free to mention the COVID and hardship plan by name. If the representative declines to agree with you about a plan, ask to speak to a supervisor. If the supervisor is similarly hesitant, ask for a company review officer.

If you still get nowhere, call PURA at 1-800-3824586. They can be extremely helpful.

I offer a description of these options – in language as clear as possible -- as a free public service, though if Eversource wants to cut me a check for doing their job for them, I’ll be waiting by my mailbox.