Final month for utility shutoff moratorium
By Kirsten Kagimoto, Chapter Communications Manager | Reading time: 2 minutes
During one of the hardest years for Hawaiʻi's families, Hawaiian Electric had its most profitable year yet—earning over $169 million in 2020—when most struggled to make ends meet.
Now, we are down to the wire. The mandatory suspension on utility shutoffs due to non-payment is set to end for good at the end of May. Upwards of 70% of Hawaiʻi's primary industry remains unemployed and our islands continue to see record unemployment rates across the board. The financial hardship caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is not over yet, but shutoff and eviction moratoriums are winding down and payment assistance programs are drying up.
Join our efforts as we double down on our call to Hawaiian Electric to use a small portion of their $169 million profits to forgive the bills of our families, friends and neighbors struggling to make ends meet—take three actions today:
Email Hawaiian Electric's CEO and urge him to do what is right
Tweet at Hawaiian Electric to publicly pressure them to forgive customer bills
Share this Facebook or Instagram post and encourage your network to do the same.
Hawaiian Electric has the unique standing, as a for-profit utility that provides an essential service, to do more for its customers than other utilities and industries that were actually hit hard by the pandemic. Hawaiian Electric should rise to the occasion and forgive the bills of customers who have been unable to pay their bills due to the pandemic. We know they can afford it and the impact that bill forgiveness will have on families' hardship will be extremely meaningful during these challenging times.
We've been calling on Hawaiian Electric to do what is right for months now, and thanks to your advocacy, small incremental changes have been made—including Hawaiian Electric pledging $2 million for bill assistance and easing the requirements of their payment plans. But we know they can do better and that is why we remain persistent.
If you are seeking rent and utility bill assistance here are direct resources to help:
Hawaiʻi Island - Hawaii County Emergency Rental Assistance Program opened April 12 and is administered through several nonprofit partners
Maui - Maui Economic Opportunity Inc. provides Maui residents with financial assistance for rent/mortgage, utilities, food, internet, medical, and other essential needs
Oʻahu - Rent & Utility assistance program reopened today at 2pm
Kauaʻi - The 2021 Coronavirus Rental and Utility program begins May 10 and is administered through the Kauaʻi Government Employees Federal Credit Union
Legal Aid Society of Hawaiʻi offers a variety of other resources and assistance programs as well