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Committee advances plan to expand Seattle Utility Discount Program to 60% AMI
Summary
The Governance & Utilities Committee discussed Council Bill 121222 to change Utility Discount Program eligibility from 70% of state median income to 60% of area median income, a phased expansion intended to add roughly 31,000 eligible households and funded in part by modest City Light and SPU rate components.
The Governance & Utilities Committee on June 11 heard agency briefings and public discussion about Council Bill 121222, a proposed ordinance to change eligibility for Seattle's Utility Discount Program (UDP) from 70% of the state median income (SMI) to 60% of the area median income (AMI).
Councilmember Andrew Strauss, the bill sponsor, said the legislation “will make about 31,000 new low-income households eligible for the Utility Discount Program,” and that the change is intended to align the program with housing-based eligibility standards and reduce the sharp eligibility ‘‘cliff’’ that excludes people earning slightly more than the current threshold. Strauss added the legislation anticipates future council consideration in 2027 and 2029 for higher thresholds up to 80% AMI.
City and utility staff framed the proposal as a phased expansion paired with operational changes to increase enrollment. Leslie Brinson of Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) and Human Services Department staff described steps taken after a 2023–24 program evaluation: data-sharing enrollments with housing authorities, in-person enrollment supports, redesigned paper applications and streamlined renewal for clients aged 65 and older, who are now exempt from annual rechecks.
Tanya Kim of the Human Services Department said outreach and customer-assistance work has been intensive: in 2025 the program processed over 13,000 applications, handled 17,400 phone inquiries and met nearly 600 walk-in customers. Kim said these efforts and new partnerships have supported rising participation.
Staff presented cost and implementation trade-offs. At current eligibility (70% SMI) the utility service territory includes about 70,000 eligible households and participation has risen toward roughly 39–40% of that pool. The agencies showed that increasing participation or expanding eligibility raises program costs; a staff estimate indicated that funding expansion that achieved 50% enrollment of the currently eligible pool could run roughly $75 million. To fund the proposed change to 60% AMI, City Light’s 2027–28 rate package includes approximately a 0.5% rate impact and SPU’s package includes about a 0.1% impact, equating to roughly $6 or $3 per year for a typical resident, while UPD recipients would receive discounts on that increase.
Officials emphasized timing and administrative details: the ordinance would switch the eligibility metric from SMI to AMI and set an effective-date cadence so thresholds align with updated AMI figures; staff noted an April 1 alignment issue that will require coordination with rate effective dates. Central staff said the change to AMI enables better pairing of UDP eligibility with other housing-based assistance and supports auto-enrollment where possible.
Councilmembers asked about consent for data-sharing, ZIP-code/heat-map outreach targeting, and Project Share donation options on paper bills. Staff said they rely on partner organizations’ consent forms for automatic enrollment, use demographic targeting for outreach, and confirmed Project Share (donation on the bill) is available on paper statements.
The committee did not take a final vote on the ordinance at this meeting; staff and sponsors signaled continued work and a scheduled follow-up discussion. The committee set July 9 as a date for further UDP deliberations and indicated the ordinance would return for future consideration.
