You have a business to run. It is hard to stay on top of things locally let alone at the Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC) where your electric rates are set. That’s where the Citizens Utility Board of Wisconsin comes in. We advocate for all small utility customers from individual citizens to small businesses and farmers for fair, safe and reliable utility service. We monitor the changing energy world and put the utility customer first.
CUB small business members benefit from our team of legislative, utility and communications experts who advocate tirelessly for your business at the Public Service Commission, the state Capitol, in the courts, and at regulatory agencies.
Small Business Membership Benefits:
Advocacy: CUB business membership keeps you up-to-date on issues that matter to you.
Empowerment: CUB will help you take action and share your thoughts with Wisconsin government officials.
Access: CUB can help your organization and employees save resources and money.
Outreach: CUB will help small business members partner with other members and like-minded organizations to bring these issues to the public. CUB staff can answer questions about energy related matters as well as provide free one-on-one utility bill consultations.
Partnership Opportunities: CUB partners with community groups interested in learning about utility issues. We provide presentations on how to understand your utility bills, how the PSC works and how you can get involved. Plus, we can provide information on energy costs you can control. Let us know what you’re interested in, and we’ll do our best to accommodate you.
July 23, 2020: Wisconsin regulators cite surge in COVID-19 cases, delay shutoffs of utility customers
Posted: July 23, 2020 by Tom Content
Disconnections of utility customers in Wisconsin won’t start this weekend after the Public Service Commission voted to delay shutoffs until Sept. 1, citing worsening COVID-19 statistics in Wisconsin.
The PSC voted 2-1 Thursday to require utilities to hold off on disconnecting residential customers who are behind on their bills, citing changed circumstances since the Commission’s last meeting on this more than a month ago.
The Commission is clearly trying to strike a balance here, and clearly there will be costs that come due at some point, but record case numbers in Wisconsin compelled the Commission to act for public health and safety reasons, said Tom Content, executive director of the Citizens Utility Board.
“The commissioners made the right call, given the unprecedented nature of the pandemic. “They clearly didn’t want to take a risk of allowing shutoffs to commence — which could lead to lives lost due to utility disconnections,” Content said.
CUB last week urged utilities to be flexible with customers who are behind on their bills and asked utilities to hold off on disconnecting any customers until October.
The Commission at its weekly meeting Thursday received information from PSC staff indicating that 71,000 households were at risk of shutoff. The Commission agreed to revisit the issue at a meeting planned for Aug. 20.
“Clearly there a lot of folks who are hurting, and this is the time to be connecting them with available resources,” Content said.
Wisconsin has $8 million of energy assistance for low income customers available through the federal Cares Act. The state along with Dane and Milwaukee counties have $45 million in rental assistance funding designed to stave off evictions.
Congress is expected to vote in the coming weeks on a pandemic response bill, and utilities and consumer advocates alike have called for billions more nationwide for energy assistance. A version of the bill passed by the House of Representatives included expanded funding for energy assistance, rental assistance and also created a fund to support water utility customers hard hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic.
Information about resources for utility customers is available at cubwi.org/covid19.
Category: Press Releases, Uncategorized, Utility Cases, Utility News Tags: COVID-19, energy assistance