Low-income households need stronger consumer protections and regulatory policies to prevent service terminations and other threats to affordable and continuous utility services.
Model Program Helps Older Adults Avoid Utility Liens on Their Homes, December 2012
California Adopts Order to Reduce Utility Disconnections of Vulnerable Households, April 2012
Order: Vermont Public Service Board Approval of a New Low Income Electric Bill Assistance Program under the Administrative and Regulatory Outcomes, July 22, 2011
Model Settlement Protects Vulnerable Consumers from Utility Disconnections, Dec. 27, 2010
Report: Rethinking Prepaid Utility Service: Customers at Risk, June 2012
Full Utility Credit Reporting
-Issue Brief Full Utility Credit Reporting: Risks to Low Income Consumers, July 2012
-Presentation to National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissions, June 2010
-Report: Full Utility Credit Reporting: Risks to Low Income Consumers, Dec. 2009
Resource Guide for Financial Help w. Utility Bills in MA
Report: Guide to Intervening in State Public Utility Proceedings, May 2003
Report: Tracking the Home Energy Needs of Low-Income Households Through Trend Data on Arrearages and Disconnections, May 2004
Press Release: Increased Utility Debt Threatens Universal Access to Utility
Press Release and Advocates' Letter to the FCC in support of The National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates' Recommendation for FCC to Reject Industry's ABC Plan, September 15, 2011
Comments and Reply Comments of the Iowa Bureau of Energy Assistance regarding Prepaid Meters, August 2011
Using Nontraditional Credit Information: Boon or Bane? Do Alternative Credit Scores and Credit Reports Really Help Low-Income Consumers?, June 2009
Comments of Massachusetts Energy Directors Association and Low-Income Weatherization and Fuel Assistance Network - Investigation into Expanding Low-income Consumer Protections and Assistance, March 28, 2008
"Prepaid Utility Service and Revenue Decoupling" by National Resource Defense Council Energy Program Co-director Ralph Cavanagh and NCLC Senior Energy Policy Analyst John Howat published in the Electricity Policy Journal, May 2, 2012
NCLC's Energy and Utility Publications and Resources
Research Resources Regarding Needs and Impacts Relating to Low Income Utility and Energy Consumers