AARP and PULP Applaud Public Service Commission for Expanding the Low-Income Energy Affordability Program
Benefits will reach nearly 100,000 new low-income households before heating season begins
ALBANY— AARP New York and the Public Utility Law Project (“PULP”) today applauded the New York Public Service Commission (“PSC”) for expanding the State’s historic low-income energy bill discount program administered by the major electric and gas utilities. The order follows an emergency petition filed by AARP and PULP last month which urged emergency relief for the millions of New York consumers struggling to afford their utility bills due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A statement from the organizations follows:
“The job losses, health battles and hospital bills of the last 18 months will be felt long after COVID-19 is under control. The Commission’s timely decision to expand energy bill discounts will ease the economic hardship and financial anxieties felt by nearly 100,000 additional households in advance of the heating season.
“Expanding the Energy Affordability Program will help lower the cost of electric and gas service for the 1.2 million households that currently struggle with utility arrears throughout New York State.
“AARP and PULP look forward to reviewing the PSC’s formal decisions from today’s meeting on the Low-Income Affordability (14-M-0565) and COVID-19 (20-M-0266) proceedings.”
AARP is the nation’s largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With a nationwide presence and nearly 38 million members, AARP strengthens communities and advocates for what matters most to families: health security, financial stability and personal fulfillment. AARP also produces the nation’s largest circulation publications: AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin. To learn more, visit www.aarp.org/nearyou and follow @AARPNY on social media.
Since 1981, the Public Utility Project of New York (“PULP”) has been the sole independent organization educating, advocating and litigating on behalf of New York‘s low-income utility consumers. Our work has empowered and protected millions through the enactment of the Home Energy Fair Practices Act (“HEFPA”) and four decades of battling against increasing energy, telephone, and water unaffordability. In our 40th Anniversary year, PULP’s direct services and principled advocacy kept the lights, heat, water, telephone, and broadband “on” for 2.7 million vulnerable households throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. PULP looks forward to many more decades of serving low- and fixed-income New Yorkers. Learn more at www.utilityproject.org or follow us on social media @utilityproject.
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