AUSTIN (KXAN) — AARP Texas and the Texas Consumer Association sent an emergency petition to the Public Utilities Commission of Texas (PUCT) on Thursday, asking for a moratorium on “all electric service disconnections of residential premises for bill arrearages or lack of payment until on or after September 15, 2023, as a public safety matter,” citing concerns about heat-related illness and death.
The groups write that “extended heat wave conditions,” combined with Texans’ energy insecurity, creates the possibility of heat-related illness and death.
“During a hot Texas summer and heat wave, living in low-quality, inefficient housing with no air
conditioning or refrigeration for food and medicine could be a death sentence for seniors, young children, medically vulnerable citizens, and others,” the petition reads, “Many households face the risk of disconnection month after month, so an electricity disconnection moratorium is a key provision for public health and safety.”
Texans without access to air conditioning are encouraged to find a local cooling center.
PUCT: Moratorium already in place
PUCT Chief Press Officer Ellie Breed said that Texans’ health and safety are the Commission’s top priority.
“The PUCT has rules in place to ensure reliable and continuous electric service during extreme heat and cold. These rules prohibit electric providers from disconnecting service to any customer during extreme weather events,” Breed said.
She said that current rules prohibit retail electric providers in ERCOT from disconnecting power because of non-payment during extreme weather events. Also, electric transmission and distribution utilities must notify PUCT when such an emergency has been issued in their area.
PUCT’s rules define these emergencies as whenever:
the previous day’s highest temperature did not exceed 32 degrees Fahrenheit, and the temperature is predicted to remain at or below that level for the next 24 hours anywhere in the county, according to the nearest National Weather Service (NWS) reports; or
the NWS issues a heat advisory for a county, or when such advisory has been issued on any one of the preceding two calendar days in a county.
“Our rules also require that [providers] offer deferred payment plans upon request for bills that become due during emergency weather conditions,” Breed said. “If someone is experiencing financial challenges related to higher-than normal energy bills, they should contact their provider and call 211 for information on assistance or resources available to them in their area.”
However, the petition draws issue with these rules, and say they are insufficient:
“The Commission’s current disconnection rule for extreme weather is flawed in that it applies on a utility-specific basis and is tied to specific calendar days — when a NWS heat advisory notice is in place or has been in place for the past two days. This makes it difficult for a customer to determine when a local disconnection ban is in effect and impossible to predict when the ban might be lifted and the power could be shut off. If the disconnection moratorium is tied to a specific end date (such as September 15 or October 1), that will reduce customer uncertainty and stress and enable budget planning for bill repayment.”
AARP/Texas Consumer Association emergency petition
Lack of statewide data hides extent of electric insecurity
The petition also asks PUCT to “immediately direct the state’s transmission and distribution utilities and retail electric providers to report on the number of their current electric accounts disconnected for lack of payment.”
“We do not know how many Texas households are already disconnected from electric service or in arrears on bills because the Texas Commission does not require utilities or retail electric providers to report this information,” the petition states. “[Reporting data] will enable the Commission and other policymakers to understand the magnitude and risk of summer bill arrearages, utility disconnections and heat-related public morbidity and mortality rates statewide.”
The U.S. Census Bureau’s “Household Pulse Survey” asked 22,460,717 Texans if they had reduced expenses or altogether skipped basic household necessities to pay an energy bill, if they kept their home at a temperature that felt unsafe and if they were unable to pay their energy bill.
Of the 16,845,538 Texans who responded to the survey between June 28 and July 10, here’s how they responded:
QuestionAlmost every monthSome months1-2 monthsNeverReduced or skipped expenses to keep energy on7.65%10.83%7.61%48.36%Kept home at temperature that felt unsafe4.01%7.15%4.26%58.91%Unable to pay energy bill2.52%6.44%6.01%59.62%
In total, 26.1% of Texans reduced or skipped expenses, 15.4% kept their home at an unsafe temperature and 15% were unable to pay their energy bill.