The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission this week announced that new statewide radio ads will begin running building on the successful “Prepare Now” campaign to inform Pennsylvanians about the availability of customer assistance programs and changes in the law related to utility shutoffs.

“It is not too late to ‘Prepare Now,’” said Chairman Wendell F. Holland. “Some customers are receiving 60-day notices from their utilities in advance of April 1 terminations. And dollars still remain in utility customer assistance programs that could help families as winter bills arrive in their mailboxes through the spring. That’s why we are enhancing the significant work already done by the PUC, utilities and consumer advocates to get the word out to consumers about high winter heating costs and their choices in preparing now. I want to thank the utilities who came forward to participate, and the Council for Utility Choice and the PUC’s Consumer Advisory Council for their expertise and support.”

Utilities providing voluntary contributions to the $340,000 campaign include: Allegheny Power, Columbia Gas, Duquesne Light, Equitable Gas, Met-Ed, PECO, Penelec, Penn Power, PG Energy, PPL and UGI.

Higher natural gas prices, production concerns caused by hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and changes in the law related to utility shut-offs created a need to continue the Commission’s successful “Prepare Now” campaign to educate Pennsylvanians, particularly those with low incomes on how to cope with higher winter heating costs.

Since the Commission began its education efforts in September, about 29 percent of the people who entered the winter without utility-related heating service have had their service restored, or the property has been verified to be vacant.

The Commission requested that electric and natural gas utilities with more than 100 consumers without service be resurveyed as part of its Cold Weather Survey process. As of February 1, 2006, the total number of off accounts for those utilities decreased to 14,533, or 29 percent.

The Commission voted at the December 15 Public Meeting to use voluntary contributions from electric and natural gas companies for a statewide consumer-education campaign on the availability of Universal Service programs and the changes in the law related to Chapter 14. The PUC partnered with the participating utilities and the Council for Utility Choice to produce the new radio spots.

The Council, a non-profit corporation affiliated with the Commission, directed the ads. Input was provided by the Energy Association of Pennsylvania, the PUC Consumer Advisory Council, the Community Action Association, the Telephone Association of Pennsylvania, the Office of Consumer Advocate and professional educators.

Chapter 14 was passed by the General Assembly as Senate Bill 677 and signed into law as Act 201 of 2004. It seeks to eliminate opportunities for customers capable of paying their bills to avoid doing so, and provide utilities with the means to reduce their uncollectible accounts.

The law changed the way regulated electric, water and major natural gas utilities handles cash deposits; reconnection of service; termination of service; payment arrangements; and the filing of termination complaints by residential customers.

For more information, visit the Prepare Now webpage.

2/24/2006