Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Utilities topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council votes to shield residents from Pepco disconnections during rate-plan review, adds $1,000 arrearage threshold
Summary
After lengthy debate, the D.C. Council adopted emergency and temporary measures pausing disconnections tied to the vacated Pepco multi-year rate plan and accepted an amendment limiting disconnection prohibition to accounts with arrearages of $1,000 or less. The emergency declaration and the underlying bill passed after roll-call votes.
The Council of the District of Columbia approved emergency measures aimed at preventing residential and commercial electric service disconnections while the D.C. Court of Appeals and the Public Service Commission resolve challenges to Pepco's multi-year rate plan. Councilmember Lewis George said the vote was needed because "No 1 in the District Of Columbia should be should lose electricity while we are still figuring out whether the bills they received were evenly properly justified in the 1st place."
Councilmember Allen circulated a narrowing amendment to limit the temporary protection to customers with arrearages of $1,000 or less; the amendment was accepted as friendly and included in the underlying bill. Allen argued the $1,000 safe harbor targets households most likely to be harmed by a short-term enforcement ban while preserving incentives for larger debtors to enter payment plans. The emergency declaration passed on a roll call (9 yes, 4 no) and the final bill as amended passed on roll call with eight yeses and five noes as recorded by the Secretary.
