Save the Date for Giving Tuesday, December 1!

2020: what a year. The COVID-19 pandemic has upended lives across the world and historically severe wildfires in the Pacific Northwest destroyed more than 4,000 residences and burned more than one million acres. But this year has also been defined by generosity and an upswell of social and civic engagement. From residents helping their immunocompromised neighbors procure groceries and medicine, to massive protests and heightened awareness of systemic racism following the death of George Floyd, to the highest national election turnout in a century, people are seeking ways to get involved and improve life in their communities.

One week from now, on December 1, the nonprofit community will come together to celebrate and harness this spirit of generosity in the form of the 9th annual Giving Tuesday, a global day of giving on the Tuesday following the U.S.’s Thanksgiving holiday. We hope that you will consider a gift to CUB on Giving Tuesday, and that you find other ways to get involved in the movement as well.

We know this is a challenging time for consumers of utility services. Many Oregonians are now unemployed or working remotely. Many households include school kids with remote learning challenges. Consequently, residents are using more energy, water, and broadband services than they did prior to the pandemic. CUB recognized these challenges right away and initiated decisive action on behalf of the residential utility customers we represent. Our staff worked diligently to produce a COVID-19 Energy Utility Customer Protection Plan that proactively expanded the discussion during the Oregon Public Utility Commission’s (PUC) investigation of the pandemic’s impacts on utility customers.

PUC Commissioner Mark Thompson called CUB’s Customer Protection Plan a “watershed moment”, and indeed, our Plan shaped the conversation among PUC staff, the utilities, and advocates, resulting in stronger consumer protections than originally envisioned by some stakeholders. In terms of energy service, the result of the investigation was an agreement that incorporates essentially all of the provisions CUB called for in our COVID-19 Energy Utility Customer Protection Plan. Notable among the protections CUB secured for customers of regulated energy utilities are:

• A freeze on service disconnections until at least April of 2021
• Nearly $40 million to forgive customers’ past-due balances
• Increased bill payment assistance for low-income customers
• Long-term, flexible repayment options for customers
• Suspension of customer security deposits and various fees through at least October of 2022

The financial support of our members and donors has bolstered CUB’s efforts this year. Your contributions strengthen our mandate to bring our unique mix of utility industry expertise and consumer advocacy to the table on your behalf. They ensure that we have the capacity and the independence necessary to hold utilities accountable and push the PUC to protect consumers. We are deeply grateful to have been sustained in these efforts by your generosity.

But CUB is far from finished with this important work – the pandemic rages on, and we know it is possible that Oregonians will need additional utility customer protections before it subsides. No matter what, CUB must stay at the table in order to secure a utility system that meets the needs of residential consumers and doesn’t leave them out in the cold, either literally or otherwise.

We invite you to mark your calendar for next Tuesday, December 1, and plan to donate to CUB on Giving Tuesday. Of course, you can jump right in and donate today in the spirit of Giving Tuesday! If you’re already a member (have contributed $5 or more in the past 12 months), please take that extra step in the spirit of this global celebration of generosity. If you’re a former member, unsure of your membership status, or entirely new to CUB, we welcome your support with equal gratitude. It takes a village, so to speak, to fight for affordable, accessible, reliable, and clean utility services for all Oregonians. We hope you will join this important fight on Giving Tuesday.

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