New Income-Based Utility Assistance Programs Coming for Portland General Electric and Cascade Customers
Posted on March 1, 2022 by Kate Ayres
Tags, Energy
Too often, low-income customers across Oregon must choose between paying energy bills or paying for food, medicine, and other essentials. But starting in April, Oregonians will begin to see the rollout of income-qualified energy assistance opportunities from regulated electric and gas utilities.
The temporary programs will provide bill assistance while the utilities develop long-term affordability programs. Customers should watch for announcements and connect with their utility to take advantage of these money-saving opportunities.
The first two such programs, set to launch in April, come from Portland General Electric (PGE) and Cascade Natural Gas. Customers will see similar programs coming from Pacific Power, Idaho Power, Avista, and Northwest Natural in the coming months.
Portland General Electric (PGE)
PGE’s proposed program will start rolling out in mid-April to qualified low-income customers. The program will be available for households up to 60 percent of Oregon’s State Median Income (SMI), adjusted for household size. The program allows for self-certification; customers can connect with PGE to declare their household size and gross annual income to certify their enrollment.
The program will be a bill percentage discount with three tiered levels:
- Households up to 30% SMI will receive a 25% discount on their monthly bills.
- Those between 31-45% SMI will receive a 20% discount.
- Households between 46-60% SMI will receive a 15% discount.
Customers with medical certificates can submit that information to PGE to be bumped up to the next discount level, unless they are already at the highest tier.
Interested customers should reach out to PGE after the program has been rolled out in mid-April. As the launch date approaches, PGE customers will begin seeing more information on the PGE website, in emails, and through direct mail. For more information, contact PGE customer service at 1-800-542-8818.
Cascade Natural Gas
Cascade’s interim program is set to roll out on April 1. The proposed interim program will continue Cascade’s COVID-19 “Big Heart Grant” program. It will include further funding for low-income customers, allowing for extra grant opportunities and new grants to qualified customers. Qualified customers are households with incomes up to 300 percent of the Federal Poverty level.
This program offers multiple grant opportunities, increasing the previous one-time grant of up to $1,500 to assistance up to $2,500. Grants will now apply to a customer’s entire past-due balance instead of just current past-due charges.
Grants in this program will fall into two categories: auto-grants and financial hardship grants. For more information, contact Cascade customer service at 1-888-522-1130.
Auto-grants: Cascade will begin rolling out auto-grants starting on April 1 to customers who have received the grant previously or received energy assistance in the past 24 months.
Financial Hardship Grants: The financial hardship grant requires customers to call in after April 1 to be considered. These grants will be available to qualified customers who have not received energy assistance within the past 24 months.
These assistance programs are the result of the 2021 Energy Affordability Act. As mandated by that legislation, they go beyond the standard bill assistance framework by factoring in income and social inequities. They also allow environmental justice communities and advocates to participate in program development.
CUB is optimistic that many struggling utility customers will receive much needed assistance as the interim programs come online. In the meantime, we will continue to work with community advocates, regulators, and utilities on developing the long-term energy affordability programs. Together, we keep Oregon moving toward a more just and equitable energy utility system.
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03/01/22 | 0 Comments | New Income-Based Utility Assistance Programs Coming for Portland General Electric and Cascade Customers