Moratoriums give temporary relief on utilities, evictions

Moratoriums give temporary relief on utilities, evictions

Bill and Ted: Face the Music

By Doug Finke
The State Journal-Register

Posted at 4:57 PM

Ameren and Commonwealth Edison are among Illinois utilities that have agreed to extend a moratorium on residential disconnections.

However, the Illinois Commerce Commission said Wednesday the two utilities have only agreed to extend the moratorium through September 10. Other utilities have agreed to extend it until the end of the month.

The previous moratorium that the utilities agreed to expired at the end of August.

“Given the rise in positive COVID-19 cases in communities across Illinois and the prerequisite for residents to stay connected to school, work and family during a pandemic, I am pleased that several of the state’s larger regulated utilities have once again agreed to extend the moratorium on disconnections for residential customers,” said Carrie Zalewski, chair of the ICC.

She also said that customers having difficulty paying bills during the pandemic should set up deferred payment plans with the utilities that serve their homes.

Utilities that agreed to a moratorium until September 30 include Nicor Gas, Northshore/Peoples Gas, Illinois American Water, Aqua Illinois, and Utility Services of Illinois. Two other utilities, Consumer Gas and Liberty Utilities, previously agreed not to disconnect customers until six months after June 26, when a stipulated moratorium period expired.

The ICC is continuing to monitor the situation and look for ways to help people avoid losing utility service, the agency said.

On Tuesday, the Trump administration said it was implementing a four-month moratorium on residential evictions. The moratorium is nationwide.

The moratorium runs through December 31 and applies to individuals earning less than $99,000 a year who are unable to make rent or housing payments.

“President Trump is committed to helping hard-working Americans stay in their homes and combating the spread of the coronavirus,” White House spokesman Brian Morgenstern told reporters Tuesday.

The move drew a mixed reaction from housing experts: praise that it would potentially keep tens of millions of Americans in their homes but concern that it only moves back a deadline, potentially setting people up for evictions next year because they would continue to accrue back payments during the pause in evictions.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told lawmakers on Capitol Hill earlier Tuesday that the announcement on evictions would likely leave them “pleased,” but he acknowledged it was not a substitute for congressional action. The White House and congressional Democrats have stalled in talks to approve another stimulus, allowing many relief programs to expire.

“Our first choice is to have bipartisan legislation that allocates specific rental assistance to the people hardest hit,” he said.

Asked about an Aspen Institute estimate of that 30 to 40 million Americans were at risk of eviction, Mnuchin said the estimate was “absurdly high,” arguing the executive orders on enhanced unemployment benefits could help Americans pay rent.

“I think this is nothing close” to what was seen during the 2007 mortgage and housing crisis, he said.

USA Today contributed to this report.

Contact Doug Finke: doug.finke@sj-r.com, 788-1527, twitter.com/dougfinkesj

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