Affordable Utility Service & Utility Rights

CO-AUTHORED WITH DERON LOVAAS AND LARRY LEVINE (NRDC) Utility services–electricity, heat, water, sanitation, telecommunications, and internet access–are essential to health, safety, and daily life. The vital need for uninterrupted utility service was evident before the coronavirus pandemic, but the COVID-19 public health emergency has reinforced the essential nature of utility service and the threats of…

Implementing a Roadmap to Utility Service as a Human Right

April 1, 2021

Essential Utility Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond: A Roadmap to Utility Service as a Human Right

March 1, 2021

Featured

Comments & Letters

Reports

Issue Briefs

Testimony

Press Releases

Featured

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Direct Testimony and Exhibits, NCLC on Behalf of Maryland Office of People’s Counsel, CN988 Before Maryland Public Service Commission

September 24, 2026

Customer and Utility Benefits of Energy Affordability Programs

September 14, 2026

Lowering Household Utility Costs: A Policy Roadmap for State Action

September 10, 2026

What Georgia Can Do to Improve Energy Affordability

September 10, 2026

States Can Bring Down Unaffordable Utility Bills

September 10, 2026

Clean Energy Financing Programs Expose Low-Income Customers to Substantial Risk

August 19, 2026

Clean Energy Financing: Why Strong Consumer Protections for Tariffed On-Bill Financing Are Essential

August 19, 2026

Protecting Access to Essential Utility Service During Extreme Heat and Climate Change (Updated)

July 7, 2026

Report Calls for Ban on Utility Disconnections During Extreme Heat

July 7, 2026

Comments & Letters

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Comments filed with the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities re: Docket No. 20-80

May 6, 2022

Comments to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission re: the Affected Communities Discussed at the April 16th Office of Public Participation Workshop

April 23, 2021

Request of the Office of Attorney General, Office of Ratepayer Advocacy for Investigation into the Effect of the Individual Residential Supply Market on Low-Income Ratepayer Assistance Programs

January 10, 2020

Support Testimony – MA S. 2150/H. 3352, An Act Relative to Electric Ratepayer Protections

July 28, 2021

Public Service Commission of Maryland Order on Limited Income Mechanism for Utility Customers

February 12, 2026

Comments in Support of Connecticut Serious Illness Disconnection Protections

February 11, 2026

Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities Expands the 2025-2026 Winter Utility Shut-Off Protection

October 27, 2025

Maryland Energy Advocates Coalition Working Group Comments on PC59

October 16, 2025

Slamming/Cramming (Truth-in-Billing) Comments to the FCC

September 22, 2025

Reports

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Reversing Energy System Inequity: Urgency and Opportunity During the Clean Energy Transition

March 6, 2019

Competing to Overcharge Consumers: The Competitive Electric Supplier Market in Massachusetts

April 2, 2018

Protecting Seriously Ill Consumers from Utility Disconnections: What States Can Do to Save Lives Now

Issue Briefs

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Powerpoint: A Legacy of Deception, Fraud and Consumer Rip-Offs

February 25, 2020

PowerPoint: Disparate Energy Insecurity Impacts

April 14, 2020

Testimony

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Testimony Before the MA Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities & Energy Regarding Competitive Energy Suppliers

January 14, 2020

Direct Testimony and Exhibits, NCLC on Behalf of Maryland Office of People’s Counsel, CN988 Before Maryland Public Service Commission

September 24, 2026

FY 2027 LIHEAP Appropriations Testimony to House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, HHS, ED and Related Agencies

April 16, 2026

Testimony in Support of Maryland HB 648

February 17, 2026

Written Testimony in Support of Mass. S. 959, An Act Providing for Energy Assistance During the Summer Months

July 23, 2025

NCLC Testimony on Massachusetts H.4144, An Act Relative to Energy Affordability

July 2, 2025

Testimony Before the Senate Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development

June 12, 2025

Testimony in Support of MD SB1, Augustine (as amended in the Senate EEE)—Electricity and Gas—Retail Supply—Regulation and Consumer Protections

March 26, 2024

Testimony in Support of Maryland SB1 Electricity and Gas—Retail Supply—Regulation and Consumer Protection

January 24, 2024

Press Releases

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States Can Bring Down Unaffordable Utility Bills

September 10, 2026

Clean Energy Financing Programs Expose Low-Income Customers to Substantial Risk

August 19, 2026

Report Calls for Ban on Utility Disconnections During Extreme Heat

July 7, 2026

New Data Shows Alarming Rise in Home Energy Insecurity

March 26, 2026

Court Upholds Furnace Efficiency Standards Set to Cut Household Bills

November 4, 2025

In Illinois, Cash-Strapped Utility Customers Get Much Needed Relief

August 11, 2025

Rural, Low-Income Communities Win After Supreme Court Upholds Funding for Phone and Broadband

June 27, 2025

U.S. Senate’s Rollback of Furnace Standards Would Add Costs and Pollution

May 21, 2024

Groups Celebrate Updated Energy Efficiency Rules for New U.S.-Backed Homes

April 25, 2024

From the NCLC Digital Library

Access to Utility Service

NCLC’s treatise on delivery of water, electricity, gas, and telecommunications, with everything a practitioner needs to know on metering, payments, telecommunications, and assistance programs.

Read Chapter One