WASHINGTON— U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) wrote a letter to the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) urging the state regulator to object to a motion before them from Eversource Energy and United Illuminating Company’s (collectively Avangrid) to move forward with utility shutouts for non-payment ratepayers amid a shut-off moratorium put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the letter, the senators expressed concerns that Eversource and UI are not complying with PURA’s affordable payment plans aimed at ensuring no Connecticut resident faces a utility shutoff due to an inability to pay. The senators concluded the letter by urging PURA to "bar the companies from utility terminations until the companies have faithfully and consistently complied with PURA’s orders.”

“We join the Governor and the Attorney General in urging PURA to deny Eversource’s and Avangrid’s (“Companies”) motions to proceed with terminations because of the need to extend the utility shutoff moratorium given the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Murphy and Blumenthal wrote.

“The Companies are required to make these programs available to any customer requesting financial assistance without requiring determination of financial eligibility or need, which includes eliminating the requirement for an initial down payment, delaying repayment for up to 24 months, waiving any fees or interest in the calculation of the monthly payment amount, contacting customers after their first missed payment and telling them about payment programs, and providing information about payment programs on their website home page,” Murphy and Blumenthal continued.

“There must be a coherent flow of information to inform customers about payment arrangements to relieve the need for utility terminations. We write to urge that PURA bar the companies from utility terminations until the companies have faithfully and consistently complied with PURA’s orders,” Murphy and Blumenthal concluded.

Full text of the letter can be viewed here and below:

Dear Ms. Gillett:

Thank you for the opportunity to provide an objection to the Office of Education, Outreach and Enforcement’s (EOE) Motion to Approve Eversource’s Termination Procedures and EOE’s Motion to Approve The Connecticut Natural Gas Corporation, The Southern Connecticut Gas Company, and the United Illuminating Company’s (collectively Avangrid) Termination Procedures.

We join the Governor and the Attorney General in urging PURA to deny Eversource’s and Avangrid’s (“Companies”) motions to proceed with terminations because of the need to extend the utility shutoff moratorium given the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Over the past two years, PURA has designed a series of affordable payment plans to ensure that no Connecticut resident faces termination of service because of an inability to pay their utility bill. These plans range from the “Below Budget Worksheet Program” for recipients of state and federal means-tested benefits to the COVID-19 Payment Plan for residents over 60 percent of state median income.

The Companies are required to make these programs available to any customer requesting financial assistance without requiring determination of financial eligibility or need, which includes eliminating the requirement for an initial down payment, delaying repayment for up to 24 months, waiving any fees or interest in the calculation of the monthly payment amount, contacting customers after their first missed payment and telling them about payment programs, and providing information about payment programs on their website home page.

Economically vulnerable residents should be afforded every opportunity to avoid utility termination, including the ability to enter affordable payment arrangements. We have previously written to express concerns with the Companies’ failures to comply with PURA orders regarding the requirement to use plain and direct language to describe affordable payment programs and the termination process – issues that PURA and our offices have been raising since these proceedings began.

There must be a coherent flow of information to inform customers about payment arrangements to relieve the need for utility terminations. We write to urge that PURA bar the companies from utility terminations until the companies have faithfully and consistently complied with PURA’s orders.

 

Sincerely,

 

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