WA extends moratorium on utility shutoffs during COVID crisis

On Friday, Gov. Jay Inslee extended the moratorium on utilities shutting off essential services for non-payment through July 28. A copy of the Governor’s declaration is available HERE.

The declaration also requires utilities to develop COVID-19 customers support programs by July 10th, and provides guidance for streamlining existing programs to meet customers’ needs going forward. 

In recent months, the Governor had been seeking the approval of legislative leaders from both parties in extending measures under the state’s emergency declaration. The Governor’s moratorium on utility shutoffs covers through the end of July, while legislative leaders were only willing to extend it through June 17, when the emergency declaration is currently set to expire. Both dates fall short of the request of the coalition of Washington groups that had asked the state to protect low-income customers from shutoffs through at least the end of 2020.

Ruth Sawyer, Washington organizer for the Sierra Club, issued the following statement:

“By protecting low income Washingtonians from losing access to essential services through July, Gov. Inslee showed that he understands that the economic fallout of COVID is just beginning. But thousands of families are still struggling to figure out how they’ll pay multiple months of utility bills at a time of record unemployment and immense economic uncertainty. We need Governor Inslee and the state legislature to push for stronger standards that require utilities to adopt more flexible credit and collections practices. In this time of crisis, we can’t let our neighbors go into debt to pay an electricity bill.”