Only a fraction of Texans who have lost their jobs in the coronavirus pandemic have signed up for financial help to pay their electricity bills.
The Public Utility Commission launched an emergency program in March that pays a substantial portion of the power bills of eligible residents. It was designed as short-term assistance, a way for Texans to get back on their feet while much of the Texas economy was closed.
The program also was designed to relieve pressure on retail electricity providers worried that they wouldn’t get paid because utility companies, prompted by regulators, temporarily stopped disconnecting customers who fell behind on payments.
The program suspends disconnections for eligible Texans who buy electricity in deregulated markets such as Houston and Dallas, and who sign up for payment plans with their electricity providers. It is funded by a special charge of 0.033 cents per kilowatt hour added to electricity bills, about 40 cents for residential customers who use 1,200 kilowatt hours of electricity per month. The program is scheduled to end July 17.
Nearly 2 million Texans applied for unemployment benefits in April and May, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. But only 4 percent enrolled in the Covid-19 electricity relief program during that same two-month period, according to newly released reports from utilities responsible for tracking the data.
CenterPoint, the regulated utility in the Houston area, reported just 26,000 participants signed up in April and May, according to the company’s filing with the Public Utility Commission. Oncor, the regulated utility that provides power to Dallas, reported nearly 32,000 participants.
Some 425,000 low-income Texans who receive Medicaid and food benefits were automatically enrolled in the program.
The program reimburses the energy portion of power bills at 4 cents per kilowatt hour and covers the cost of local delivery and transmission, which is about another 4 cents per kilowatt hour. Consumers will be credited for those amounts on their bills yet would still be responsible for reimbursing their power providers for any energy portion of a bill that exceeds 4 cents per kilowatt hour.
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Some consumer advocates suggest many Texans didn’t know about the program.
“Retail electric providers should be stepping up to make sure they’re serving all of their customers, especially during this difficult time,” said R A. Dyer, policy analyst with the Texas Coalition for Affordable Power, which represents cities in Texas that buy power.
The commission said it has tried to get the word out by issuing press releases, social media posts and creating a special COVID-19 page in English and Spanish on the commission’s website.
Some retail electricity providers were reluctant to enroll customers who might qualify. PUC Chairman DeAnn Walker said in a public meeting in April that consumers were complaining that some providers refused to put them on deferred payment plans.
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The 76,000 Texans who enrolled on their own, however, may regret signing up for the program because they also likely agreed to what’s known as a “switch hold.” That means that they can’t change providers until they pay off their old bills, a restriction permitted under Public Utility Commission rules.
If consumers miss a payment after the program ends next month, they face disconnection of their electricity. And if they can’t sign up with another provider, losing lights and air conditioning would be disastrous for a lot of struggling Texans just as the temperature is getting hotter, said one consumer advocate.
“The timing here is really bad,” said Tim Morstad, associate state director for the advocacy group for older people AARP Texas.
“Switch-holds are really nasty during normal times but are especially devastating when thousands of Texans are facing unemployment and the worst heat of summer,” he said.
The commissioners are expected to consider Friday whether to extend the program, according to documents filed recently.
lynn.sixel@chron.com
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