Thousands in Whatcom Co. vulnerable to shutoff as PSE resumes disconnection for past due bills
More than 100,000 Puget Sound Energy (PSE) customers — and thousands in Whatcom County alone — are at risk of having their energy services shut off beginning this month.
Washington’s largest utility company is resuming its pre-pandemic process of disconnecting customers who are behind on their utility bill payments after the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) approved a request made by PSE in late May.
The utility company will resume sending disconnection notices to customers who have had past-due balances for 90 days or more at a minimum of $250.
Advocacy groups across the state advised the Commission to keep disconnection protections in place, saying this return to service will overburden already at-risk and vulnerable communities.
“We are surprised and disappointed in the Commission’s order to allow shutting off essential services for vulnerable residents,” said Jeff DeLuca, executive director of the nonprofit anti-poverty advocacy group Washington State Community Action Partnership (WSCAP), in a release about the decision. “We’re talking about households facing serious poverty-related challenges. The Commission’s order turns a blind eye on energy justice and equity, despite state law’s direction to consider these factors when evaluating investor-owned utilities’ requests to change policies and practices.”
As of May 2024, PSE told The Bellingham Herald it had approximately 104,000 customers with accounts more than 90 days past due totaling $156.7 million in overdue bills. Sixty-two % of those customers have a total past due amount of $250 or more. Some customers owe years of overdue bills, according to PSE.
Of those 104,000 customers with overdue bills, 6.8% are in Whatcom County. That’s more than 7,000 customers.
“Research demonstrates that utility disconnections disproportionately affect Black, Indigenous, and People of Color households, even after controlling for income. Research also highlights the extreme consequences disconnections have on vulnerable and low-income customers, including not being able to afford other basic necessities like food and medicine or even being evicted from rental properties,” said Yochi Zakai, attorney at Shute, Mihaly and Weinberger LLP, in the release. The firm represents the WSCAP in this case. “The Commission granted PSE’s request to break its disconnection protection agreement despite being presented with this research.”
PSE told The Herald the company offered financial support and extended payment plans to its customers throughout the pandemic, including distributing $88 million in assistance to more than 165,000 families in 10 Washington counties.
Approximately 4,866 households in Whatcom County have received PSE HELP services since Oct. 1, 2023, with more than $3.3 million distributed in assistance, according to the Opportunity Council.
And about 5,864 households in Whatcom County have been approved for PSE’s Bill Discount Rate Program, which was implemented in the fall of 2023.
Opportunity Council Community Services Director Debbie Paton said PSE’s pandemic-era policy gave customers more time to make a plan or access financial assistance resources.
“Low-income households in Whatcom County are having to stretch their budgets and are making difficult decisions about paying their power bill or paying for other basic needs,” Paton said in a statement to The Herald. “When their electricity is disconnected, the past due amount goes to collections and most assistance programs do not cover debt in collections.”
When PSE begins moving a customer through the disconnection process, PSE Public Relations Manager Melanie Coon said the company engages in multiple outreach attempts via phone and mail over a 35-day period before the customer enters the disconnection queue.
“When a customer falls behind on their payment, we reach out to develop a collaborative solution. In addition to contacting customers directly, we partner with nonprofit community organizations that serve low-income and historically underrepresented groups, making customers aware of financial alternatives and helping them access assistance,” Coon said in a statement to The Herald.
Coon said PSE’s goal is to get customers connected with assistance as quickly and easily as possible.
“Our outreach throughout the process is to ensure the customer is aware of all the programs and offerings PSE has to help the customer get back on track with their past-due balance to avoid a disconnection, but we also inform the customer if no action is taken they may be subject to disconnection,” Coon told The Herald. “If a customer indicates they are working to pay their bill, they will be removed from the dunning process.”
PSE customers can apply for payment assistance at pse.com/assistance. Customers may qualify for a bill discount rate that can save them between 5% and 45% each month on their bill and can be combined with payment assistance programs such as LIHEAP and PSE Help. Customers can also work with PSE to establish payment arrangements and budget bill programs.
Opportunity Council has limited crisis federal Low-Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEA) appointments available weekly depending on funding availability.
Other resources include the Salvation Army Warm Home Fund, Humanitas Ministry, and Project Hope Community Assistance. Community members can get more information about these programs through WhatcomResources.org.
This story was originally published June 15, 2024 at 3:00 AM.
