The State Corporation Commission (SCC) is extending its general moratorium on service shut-offs until September 16 to help customers struggling to pay their utility bills during the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic fallout.
In an news release Monday, the SCC said it is continuing its emergency measure to give the Virginia General Assembly, currently meeting in a special session, more time to pass legislation addressing the impact of COVID-19 on utility customers over the last six months.
The SCC moratorium was originally instituted on March 16 to help protect thousands of customers who were furloughed or fired as Virginia began shutting down because of the coronavirus.
Dominion energy, the largest utility service in Virginia serving 2.5 million customers, implemented their own policy of suspending service disconnects for non-payment from March until at least October 14, Dominion Energy spokesperson Rayhan Daudani wrote in an email to The Virginia Star.
Daudani could not disclose how many Virginia customers fall under Dominion’s policy on suspending disconnects or if there was a limit on the number of Virginia customers that can benefit from the policy.
“We are unwavering in our commitment to helping our customers during this unprecedented time,” Daudani said in a statement provided by email. “We have worked hard to ensure all our customers don’t have to worry about losing electric service because they can’t pay their bills during the pandemic. We are working with policy makers during the Virginia General Assembly special session to forgive customer debt.”
Currently, there are two bills being considered in the Virginia House of Delegates about utility companies. The first, House Bill (HB) 5088, authorizes the SCC to give any earnings more than 70 basis points above a companies’ approved rate of return to benefit customers and the other, HB 5117, requires companies providing water, gas, eclectic, etc., to create an emergency debt repayment plan for residential customers.
Additionally, Dominion is allowing small business customers to apply for EnergyShare funding, a program with $14 million available, in partnership with the Virginia Chamber of Commerce Foundation, according to the email from Daudani.
Dominion also gave $500,000 to the Small Business Relief Program, which offers one-time assistance – up to $1,000 – for small businesses, nonprofits, and houses of worship to help with unpaid electric bills during the pandemic, the email said.
As a result of a prior SCC order, customers who entered into extended payment plans with their utility providers or agree to a new payment plan, and adhere to it, will continue to be protected from service shut-offs even after the moratorium expires, according to the release.
This latest order also prolongs the established protection that customers in extended payment plans cannot be charged any late fees and tariffs put in place to help medically vulnerable customers avoid shut-offs will continue beyond the expiration of the Moratorium.
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Jacob Taylor is a reporter at The Virginia Star and the Star News Network. Follow Jacob on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected]
