Thanks in part to the action you took, legislators passed HB 906 and SB 480 during this General Assembly session, stopping utilities from shutting off customers’ power, gas, and water during extreme weather and public health emergencies because they couldn’t afford their bills. If the governor signs these into law, fewer customers should lose access to essential utilities. 

Many households in our communities face an energy affordability gap of thousands of dollars per year. Families with income up to fifty percent of the Federal Poverty Level, some 161,000 Virginia households, have energy bills totaling $2,183 higher than they can afford each year. And they spend around 32% of their income on home energy. It is families like these who are often most at risk of service disconnection for nonpayment. Even households with higher income, up to 200% of the Federal Poverty Level, have unsustainable energy burdens of 7% of income and more.

But we have another opportunity to decrease shutoffs! Last year, the General Assembly passed legislation (HB 1770 and SB 1265) that allows the State Corporation Commission to adjust Dominion’s and Appalachian Power’s profits based on whether or not they achieve performance targets. 

And we can have a say in what those performance targets should be! Tell the State Corporation Commission you want Dominion and Appalachian Power to be incentivized to reduce the number of shutoffs they make and to be penalized if they don’t!

We need fewer shutoffs, because utility shutoffs harm our most vulnerable families and impact Black and Brown and low-income communities the most:

• One of every four households in Virginia is energy insecure, and energy assistance programs only serve 25% of eligible households. The assistance doesn’t meet the need, covering on average only 29% of heating costs. 
• More than a third of the households eligible for energy assistance programs contain at least one individual 60 years of age or older, leaving some of our most vulnerable residents at risk of losing life saving electric utility services.
• The households most at risk of being disconnected are paying higher energy bills due to the higher energy use intensity of their older and less energy efficient homes. Nationally, they spend $1.24 per square foot on energy, compared to the $0.98 spent by households who are not energy insecure. Renters’ costs are even higher at $1.26 per square foot. And the lowest-income households spend the most, $1.31 per square foot. 
• These energy disparities become even more apparent when looking at the energy use of households across race. Black and Brown households pay close to $.20 more per square foot to power their homes than White households.  
• According to regulators, Dominion Virginia bills are set to double in the next 12 years, and Appalachian Power customers’ bills have risen by an average of $430 annually in the last year. 

Again, tell the State Corporation Commission you want Dominion and Appalachian Power to be incentivized to reduce the number of shutoffs they make and to be penalized if they don’t!

You can submit your comments here.