Presentation short abstract

Using over 35 qualitative interviews across the industry, National Roadmap to Ending Utility Shutoffs identifies the extent of the harms of shutoffs, evaluating best practices for reducing them and providing strategic recommendations for energy justice advocates, policymakers, and regulators.

Presentation long abstract

Millions of households across the United States experience utility shutoffs each year due to nonpayment, disproportionately impacting BIPOC and frontline environmental justice communities. Despite the fundamental need for electricity for survival, investor-owned utilities prioritize profit over people. Between January and October 2022, utility companies shut off power to households in the U.S. an estimated 4.2 million times, with few companies responsible for the vast majority of these disconnections (Bell et al., 2023).

Energy insecurity is a multi-dimensional crisis with economic, physical, and behavioral components (Hernández, 2016). It exacerbates health disparities, with shutoffs linked to respiratory conditions such as asthma and premature deaths (Hernández, 2016). Utilities use strategic, extractive tactics such as media manipulation, regulatory capture, and rate hikes to suppress consumer protections (Rivera et al., 2022). The consequences of utility shutoffs are severe: households without power struggle to maintain employment, access healthcare, and keep children in school. Moreover, the lack of transparent data on disconnections masks the full extent of the crisis, hindering regulatory and legislative solutions.

The National Roadmap to Ending Utility Shutoffs identifies the harms, evaluating best practices for reducing and providing strategic recommendations for energy justice advocates, policymakers, and regulators. This project delivers a set of targeted resources–including a white paper detailing the arguments for the elimination of utility shutoffs, a strategy memo outlining policies, administrative actions that advocates can take to achieve shutoff moratoria, and a literature review analyzing the harm of utility shutoffs and disparities across demographics–to inform and mobilize stakeholders toward eliminating utility shutoffs.