Kansas and Missouri Coalition Demands Reinstatement of Disconnection Moratoria for Monopoly Utilities

Updated at 5:10 PM Central on Thursday, December 10, 2020

Kansas City, MO -- It wouldn’t be 2020 without a few curve balls.

Earlier this afternoon, thirty minutes into a coalition press conference calling for--among other things--Evergy to reinstate its utility shutoff moratorium, Evergy tweeted that it was doing just that:

Sierra Club applauds Evergy’s decision to do the right thing by suspending residential service disconnects, and we hope that other utilities in Kansas and Missouri will follow Evergy’s lead.

As the Build Power MoKan coalition outlined in their press conference and their December 10 letter, reinstating a shutoff moratorium is the first step towards cushioning Kansas and Missouri residents from the ongoing health and economic crises. Since Evergy’s initial shutoff moratorium expired on July 15, the utility involuntarily disconnected more than 40,000 homes. Evergy has indicated that those customers will not have their power automatically restored.

Evergy’s decision extends through March 1, 2021, when ‘it will be re-evaluated.’ We hope Evergy will stay mindful of the COVID crisis, and will extend this moratorium if the pandemic has not passed.

We call on other utilities in Kansas and Missouri including Ameren Missouri, KC Board of Public Utilities and Empire to follow Evergy’s lead and reinstate shutoff moratoria. On Monday, the Consumers Council of Missouri filed an emergency petition with the Missouri Public Service Commission (PSC) calling for a moratorium on shutoffs in Missouri. The PSC has set a deadline of Monday, December 14 for responses to that petition.

Original release follows:

Kansas City, MO -- The spread of COVID-19 is raging, but utility disconnect moratoria in Kansas and Missouri have expired. While the near-term distribution of vaccines means the end of the pandemic may be in sight, in the meantime elected and utility leaders need to do everything possible to ensure the very real suffering of people is eased until the pandemic is under control.

Build Power MoKan, a coalition of organizations from Kansas and Missouri, held a press conference today calling on monopoly electric utilities to reinstate disconnection moratoria, and if they refuse, Governor Kelly and Governor Parson should come to the aid of their struggling citizens. Build Power MoKan is specifically calling for the following actions:

1. Reinstate the moratorium on residential utility shut-offs and evictions for all customers until the end of the COVID 19 health and economic crisis.

2. Turn utilities back on for all residential customers with no fees, minimum balance, or back bill payment requirements.

3. Require the utility to work with customer stakeholder groups to provide flexible

4. Affordable Deferred Payment Arrangements with no restrictive maximum length or minimum monthly payment amounts. Utilities should continue and expand programs to waive late payment fees, eliminate external credit reporting, and provide relief from utility debt.

5. Require utilities to provide data to governors, regulatory bodies, and social service organizations to create an unsafe-to-disconnect list of accounts including those with medical equipment, self-filed medical conditions, seniors, and children.

6. Require utilities to fund a bill insert developed by regional social service organizations to ensure vulnerable customers can access assistance in their area, whether or not they have internet access or English language proficiency.

7. Require utilities to propose affordability plans in cooperation with a working group of customer advocates and the Governor’s office by the end of the utility shut-off moratorium. These plans should address the need for arrearage relief, low income rates, better hot and cold weather protections, multi-year payment plans, on-bill financing, low-income weatherization, energy efficiency, and renewable energy programs that bring value to residential customers with the goal of reducing the number of households who cannot pay their bills long-term.

Build Power MoKan is a people led, bi-state energy justice organizing network working to dismantle the systems of oppression created by the utility industry. The full text of the Build Power MoKan sign-on letter can be found at https://buildpowermokan.org/sign-on-letter/.

This Google Drive folder contains a video recording of the press conference, photos of the participants, information on Kansas and Missouri utility disconnect numbers, and Build Power MoKan graphics.

“The only way to protect all Kansas and Missouri residents from the health and financial risks of having their power shut off is a complete stop to utility shutoffs,” said Ty Gorman, the SIerra Club’s Campaign Representative with the Beyond Coal Campaign in Kansas. “While assistance programs like LIHEAP [the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program] are great, the ongoing pandemic demands greater action. If utilities won’t voluntarily halt all shutoffs, Governors Kelly and Parson must step in and do it for them.”

“We have been calling for a utility shut off ban since March,” said Brandy Granados, a leader with KC Tenants. “How can my special needs son, Jude, learn remotely without electricity? How can I feed him without a working refrigerator to store the food and a stove to cook it on? How can I make sure we have a home to shelter in safe from exposure to the coronavirus if rent is due and the money isn’t there? You start to ask yourself where the leaders are. Why aren’t they making sure their constituents have what they need to safely shelter at home? They just keep failing us. When putting profit over people is policy, people die.”

“No one should have to go without utilities or a safe place to live during this pandemic. We are human beings and we are hurting. Where are our leaders?” asked Sheila Thomas, a Missouri resident who is behind on her electric and gas and facing eviction.

“After missing only 2 months worth of payments to Evergy, they showed up at my door to tell me my electric was being shut off,” said Claire Chadwick from the Poor People’s Campaign in Kansas. “I was forced into a payment plan of larger payments each month in order to catch up on what I owed. I was not offered relief or help or empathy but instead was told that if I was even a day late moving forward not only would my electric be shut off but I would owe the entire amount due plus penalties before it would be turned on again. It is wrong and immoral in any society, but especially during a pandemic, to threaten utility shut offs and evictions to those of us who are already suffering from the pre existing conditions of poverty and economic instability.”

“As a child care provider, I am seeing the development and health of children being affected by energy and utility shutoffs,” said Ivonne Gutierrez, a Kansas resident and community member.

“"It’s going to be a very dangerous winter for a lot of people if we don’t take bold action immediately." said Dustin Hare from Rent Zero Kansas.

“Our community members are facing energy insecurity which is considered by the WHO a social determinant of health. Access to electricity is a critical component of safety, perceived safety and health. This conversation isn’t about economics, it’s about humanity,” said Beto Lugo Martinez, Executive Director of CleanAirNow.