COVID-19 Debt Coming to a Head
By Kirsten Kagimoto | Reading time: 1.5 minutes
Hawaiʻi's utility shutoff moratorium ended on May 31. Hawaiian Electric has committed to not immediately shutting off people's power due to non-payment but make sure you take the steps to ensure you can keep your lights on. If you have overdue bills due to COVID-19, please make sure you sign up for a payment plan with Hawaiian Electric (and your other utilities) as this will help you avoid disconnections.
While we are grateful that Hawaiian Electric has eased their qualifications for their payment plans we continue to hold strong that payment plans do not go far enough to help families in need to make ends meet.
Unemployment rates remain high while families face thousands of dollars in debt from the pandemic. These challenges are only going to get worse as the state's eviction moratorium ends too in August. Unlike individual landlords and other utilities, Hawaiian Electric can afford to directly forgive overdue bills. As a large corporate monopoly that benefits greatly from providing an essential service, they have the unique financial standing that puts them in a position to do more than the minimum required by the Public Utilities Commission.
Let's continue to pull together as a community and help our family, friends, and neighbors in need. Take action today by:
Signing up for payment plans to avoid disconnections and check in with your networks to make sure they do the same. Also check here for payment assistance programs in your county that can help offset some of your debt.
Emailing Hawaiian Electric's executives urging them to offer direct bill forgiveness using their $200 million+ profits from the past year.
Contacting Governor Ige to ask him to extend the eviction moratorium past June 8. Call 207-7891 and say something like "Hi, my name is [name] and I live in [zip code/area]. I'm calling to ask that the eviction moratorium be extended with an additional rent and mortgage moratorium and rent forgiveness because nobody is going to get a job that pays back months of unpaid rent. Thank you."