Pennsylvania
Utility shut-off protections in Pa. would be expanded to summer months under bill
This story originally appeared on Spotlight PA.
Pennsylvania lawmakers have until the end of 2024 to reauthorize a key area of state law that protects low-income utility customers from sudden shut-offs when behind on their bills, and some are taking advantage of the deadline to push for new consumer protections.
The law, enacted in 2004 and reauthorized every 10 years, was designed to both shield people from losing heat in winter and give utility companies more options to collect unpaid bills, with an eye on keeping rates down for all consumers.
With another reauthorization looming, consumer advocates are trying to make a case that the law favors utility companies over households, and they’re pitching changes that include a moratorium on summer shut-offs.
As with every issue in a divided legislature, the fate of those provisions is tied to backroom bargaining between the Democratic-controlled state House and the Republican-controlled state Senate.
“We expect conversations to be robust throughout the course of calendar year 2024,” state Rep. Rob Matzie (D., Beaver), chair of the state House Consumer Protection, Utilities & Technology Committee, said during a hearing Wednesday.
In its current form, the law represents a compromise. It took discretion away from the state’s Public Utility Commission to design specific repayment plans and allowed utilities to require full repayment, plus fees, before restarting service.
However, it also includes protections for customers, some of which apply only to people who meet certain income requirements.
Protections include requiring electric, gas, and water companies to contact customers before shutting off services; banning electric and gas utility disconnections in winter; and allowing customers to dispute their bills. Customers can also provide a doctor’s note that shows a member of the household has a medical condition that “requires the continuation of service” to block a shut-off.
Reauthorizing the law as written isn’t controversial, according to Stephen DeFrank, chair of the state Public Utility Commission.
“I think that this is a worthwhile review. I think that it’s good to do this every 10 years,” he told Spotlight PA. “And I think that should continue … The landscape is ever-changing, and we need to be cognizant of that.”
The commission has backed some tweaks to the law, including one that would give the agency more flexibility to set up repayment plans. Consumer advocates also have ideas about how to improve the law to better protect vulnerable Pennsylvanians.
Elizabeth Marx — executive director of the Pennsylvania Utility Law Project, a nonprofit that provides legal aid to individuals struggling with utility bills — told lawmakers at a hearing Wednesday that the law is “punitive,” particularly by allowing for additional fees, fines, and deposits that can compound a low-income household’s debt.
Rather than lower costs, Marx said, the law has “exacerbated utility insecurity and resulted in stark disparities in debt levels and termination rates for economically vulnerable Pennsylvanians.”
In her written testimony, Marx said that as of 2021, low-income households held just over 50% of electric utility debt and 30% of gas utility debt. She also noted that despite the law, utility shut-offs for low-income customers have still spiked in times of high energy prices.
A proposal from Matzie attempts to address these concerns.
Under his reauthorization bill, utilities would be banned from charging customers deposits for setting up service and reconnection fees if they are restarting service.
It would also create a moratorium on utility shut-offs during July and August, expand existing protections to water customers, require utilities to pre-screen customers for payment assistance programs, and give the state Public Utility Commission more flexibility to create longer-term payment plans for customers behind on their bills.
“Consumer is the first word in the name of our committee,” Matzie said Wednesday during a hearing on his proposal. He also acknowledged a need to balance expanded protections with utilities’ concerns.
Ahead of the speech, rally-goers were met outside the venue by dozens of former President Donald Trump’s supporters waving flags and hoisting signs in support of the Republican candidate.
Lisa Leedom and James R. Leedom, Levittown residents, said they support Trump and want to see him limit government overreach and lower taxes.
James Leedom said he wants to see Trump support an effort to restart the Keystone XL Pipeline Project to lower gas prices and reduce inflation.
“People can’t afford to eat. They can’t afford to do anything,” he said.
Ed Sheppard, chair of communications for the Doylestown Republican Committee, said the counter-rally “grew organically” once Trump’s supporters heard about the Democratic rally.
Sheppard said local Republicans are hoping to make a difference nationally with the local elections in Bucks County and Pennsylvania.
“Pennsylvania’s going to decide the White House, the Senate and the House, and Bucks County is going to decide Pennsylvania,” he said, highlighting the House race between incumbent Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick and Democratic challenger Ashley Ehasz as well as the U.S. Senate race between Republican challenger Dave McCormick and incumbent Democratic Sen. Bob Casey, in addition to the presidential match between Biden and Trump.
“There’s a lot of enthusiasm for the entire ticket,” Sheppard said. “People are fed up with Democratic policies, and after that debate a lot of independents feel lied to by Democrats about the state of their president, so they’re really gravitating towards us who are being honest about our state of minds.”
If there’s a point of consensus on both sides, it’s that Bucks County voters will play a decisive role in November’s elections. Philly’s collar counties are crucial to win Pennsylvania, a historic swing state, and Bucks County has been a particularly close race in past elections. In 2020, Biden won the county with 51.7% of the vote to Trump’s 47.3%. The 2016 presidential election was even closer: Hillary Clinton barely edged out Trump with 48.4% of the vote compared to 47.8% of the vote for Trump.
“We need to buck up, Bucks County,” Newsom told the crowd. The governor said that it was a “choice election” between “daylight and darkness.”
“If Donald Trump succeeds, God help us, we will roll back the last half century,” he said. “It’s America in reverse. They want to bring us back to a pre-1960s world and you are the front lines of that opposition. You are the folks that can make sure that does not happen. Voting rights, civil rights, LGBTQ rights, women’s rights, not just access to abortion, access to contraception, all of those things are on the ballot, Bucks County, and we are counting on you. America’s counting on you.”
WHYY News reporter Carmen Russell-Sluchansky contributed reporting.
(The Center Square) — Political advertising in Pennsylvania for the 2024 presidential election is predicted to reach $360 million, the highest level in the nation.
Overall spending, including down-ballot races, is projected to be $800 million, the 3rd-highest in the nation.
This is according to The Political Projections Report, which was released on Monday by advertisement tracking company AdImpact.
Swing states like Georgia, Pennsylvania and North Carolina will play especially critical roles in the presidential election, the report found.
“With spending centralized in a handful of swing states that will ultimately decide the election, we expect the general to see $2.16B, a 17% increase over 2020.”
Pennsylvania will also likely see record levels of spending on both Senate and down-ballot races as well.
“With Democrats on the defensive this fall, spending will overwhelmingly occur in several key battleground states: Arizona, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Maryland, Michigan, and Wisconsin,” the report found.
All of these numbers are significantly higher than in past election cycles.
The report anticipates a 19% growth in overall advertising in the upcoming election cycle over the 2020 election season, with spending through June 30th already “pacing $529M ahead of the 2020 cycle.”
This comes as political advertising just begins to enter what AdImpact calls the “true spending season,” which runs from July 1 through Election Day.
Nationwide political advertising spending will likely reach a record high $10.69 billion, making it the “most expensive on record.”
The $10.69 billion was a revision from its earlier-predicted number of $10.2 billion.
Pennsylvania also saw an upward revision of $62 million from the past report, giving it the 5th-largest increase.
Much of the spending comes from political interest groups like Planned Parenthood, who are particularly motivated to spend in states with ballot initiatives dealing with abortion, marijuana, or other issues.
According to AdImpact, if Pennsylvania decides to take up an initiative on one of those issues, there’s a “strong indication” that “it will see an influx of additional expenditures.”
Elyse Apel is an apprentice reporter with The Center Square, covering Georgia and North Carolina. She is a 2024 graduate of Hillsdale College.
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