A record number of Snohomish PUD customers are expected to have their electricity turned off this year.
But just in time for winter, help has arrived for those struggling to keep up with their bills.
The Snohomish County Energy Assistance office opens Monday for the winter season, which is good news for folks like Susan Earl of Tulalip. Her electricity was shut off Nov. 4, one of more than 13,500 times the PUD has turned the power off in a Snohomish County home this year.
The utility is on pace to disconnect more than 15,192 homes, a dubious record. The current record was set in 2002.
By offering help that averages about $360 per family, the energy assistance office hopes to stem the disconnection tide, said Bill Beuscher, the program’s supervisor.
“There are a lot of people who get behind on their bills and who are in danger of being shut off,” he said.
Earl was one of those.
“It’s very difficult when you start falling behind,” said Earl, who lives with a pregnant friend and her small child. “You feel like there’s no way of catching up.”
Earl was able to get her power back on after a day and night of being in the cold and dark, but she said it was a struggle to find the money to pay the $75 reconnection fee and $180 on her overdue bill. She plans to call the energy assistance office to ask for help in paying down the amount she still owes the PUD.
The energy assistance office expects to spend up to $2.1 million helping low-income PUD customers pay their bills this winter, up significantly from last season’s $1.7 million.
“I’m projecting we’ll spend it all,” Beuscher said. “We expect to have it all out in the community by the end of June.”
The amount paid per family varies depending on each family’s financial situation, Beuscher said. Last year, the average payout was $360.
To qualify, a family can be 200 percent over the poverty level, an improvement over last year, Beuscher said. The poverty level is currently $1,964 a month for a family of four and $970 a month for one person.
The county’s energy assistance funding comes from the federal Low-income Home Energy Assistance Program, and from a legal settlement with an energy company that contributed to the market manipulation that drove electricity prices to record levels during the 2000-2001 energy crisis.
The assistance is much appreciated at the PUD, said Pam Aschenbrenner, the PUD’s customer service manager.
“There’s a tremendous need for low-income assistance,” she said, adding that tough economic times have made it difficult for all of the PUD’s 295,000 customers to keep up with their bills.
The PUD also offers assistance for low-income and senior customers. The energy assistance office also offers low-income assistance to Puget Sound Energy natural gas customers in Snohomish County.
To make an appointment with the energy assistance office, call 425-259-5185. For help from the PUD, call 425-783-1000.
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