Patrick Cicero, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Utility Law Project, helped bring light to the challenges of low-income Pennsylvanians attempting to negotiate their utility bills in a recent article on Penn Live, “Utility terminations skyrocket in Pennsylvania, but why?”
Patrick discusses the continued challenges caused by the passage of Chapter 14 of the Pennsylvania utility code in 2004, legislation which requires consumers to navigate payment agreements, customer assistance programs, and debt repayment directly with utilities companies, rather than with the assistance of the Public Utility Commission (PUC).
The utility companies’ trade association argues that the intent of the Chapter 14 legislation was to allow energy companies to more easily collect debt from consumers who could pay for their services but were refusing to do so. However, Patrick cites evidence that the collections powers granted to the utility companies through this legislation not only work against low-income consumers, but demonstrates little improvement in the financial position of the utility companies.
The weather in Pennsylvanian may be headed toward warmer days in just a few weeks, but many who lack the heat or electricity required to survive remain at the mercy of their utility providers.