Rulemaking 21-02-014 to Address Energy Utility Customer Bill Debt Accumulated During the COVID-19 Pandemic
This proceeding will examine the need for arrearage relief tied to the COVID-19 period, with consideration of appropriate parameters, cost estimates, and potential funding sources.
Rulings
- Administrative Law Judge’s Ruling of Feb 26, 2021 providing updated data and telephone line for remote Prehearing Conference
- Assigned Commissioner’s Scoping Memo and Ruling of March 15, 2021 issuing workshop agenda including proposal areas to be developed, directing parties and stakeholders to indicate proposal area preferences
- Administrative Law Judge’s Ruling of April 2, 2021 Inviting Responses to Post-Workshop Questions and Extending Filing Dates of Briefs
- Administrative Law Judge’s Ruling of April 5, 2021 Directing Utility Action to Leverage Federal Funding for Arrearage Relief
Workshops
- WHAT: Workshop on Options to Reduce Energy Arrearages for Residential and Small Business Customers
- WHEN and HOW TO ACCESS:
- Media Advisory
- MEETING MATERIALS:
Data from Related Proceedings or Related Filings
- Filed Utility Transition Plans for End of Emergency Customer Protections
- Small and Multi-Jurisdictional Utilities (SMJU) Annual California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE)/Family Electric Rate Assistance (FERA) Reports
- Southwest Gas 2019
- Alpine Natural Gas 2019
- West Coast Gas 2019
- Pacificorp 2019
- Liberty Utilities (CalPeco Electric) 2019
- Bear Valley Electric Service 2019
- IOU Monthly Disconnection Reports
- Environmental and Social Justice (ESJ) Communities
The CPUC’s first Environmental and Social Justice Action Plan described Environmental and Social Justice Communities as follows:
- “The Commission is creating an Environmental and Social Justice document to provide a broad look at communities that have long been underserved. ESJ communities are commonly identified as those where residents are:
- Predominantly communities of color or low-income
- Underrepresented in the policy setting or decision-making process
- Subject to a disproportionate impact from one or more environmental hazards
- Likely to experience disparate implementation of environmental regulations and socio-economic investments in their communities
- They also include, but are not limited to:
- Disadvantage Communities located in the top 25% of communities identified by Cal EPA’s CalEnviroScreen
- All Tribal lands
- Low-Income households
- Low-Income census tracts [percentage of median income is one of many groupings capturing low-income; the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey S1903 is the broad source of median income and allows users to define geographies and subsets]