Utility Regulator Extends Moratorium on Service Cutoff for One More Month

Following 12 hours of testimony from a broad array of stakeholders late last week, the Maryland Public Service Commission voted Monday to extend the state’s moratorium on utility service shutoffs for an extra month, through Oct. 1.

Four of the commissioners voted for the motion, offered by PSC Chairman Jason M. Stanek. A fifth commissioner, Michael T. Richard, abstained, saying he hadn’t had time to fully digest the motion and preferred a proposal from the Office of People’s Counsel to extend the moratorium indefinitely.

“A lot of this package was cooked over the weekend,” Richard said.

Stanek cast his proposal as a balance between protecting the needs of consumers — many of whom have been hammered financially by the COVID-19 pandemic — and the needs of utilities that have also suffered from the economic downturn.

Read more: https://www.marylandmatters.org/2020/08/31/utility-regulator-extends-moratorium-on-service-cutoff-for-one-more-month/