Attorney General Mark Herring has requested that the State Corporation Commission extend its suspension on utility disconnections beyond the current end date of June 15th.
In his filing with the SCC, Herring notes that Gov. Ralph Northam has extended his state of emergency indefinitely and explains that “the existing moratorium should be extended to a point in the future after Virginia’s economy has had an opportunity to resume, allowing impacted citizens an opportunity to regain some financial footing.”
“We are still in the middle of a deadly pandemic and a state of emergency where we continue to ask Virginians to stay home as much as possible to prevent further spread of COVID-19,” Herring said. “Unfortunately, as a result of business closures and layoffs due to social distancing measures, we have seen an unprecedented spike in unemployment in Virginia. Individuals, especially hourly wage earners, are struggling to make ends meet and we must continue to ensure that Virginians have access to heat, water, electricity and other utilities while we navigate our way through this public health emergency and tough financial times.”
Eleven environmental and community advocacy organizations – Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Clean Virginia, Climate Action Alliance of the Valley, League of Conservation Voters Virginia, New Virginia Majority, Piedmont Environmental Council, Rappahannock League for Environmental Protection, Sierra Club Virginia Chapter, Southern Environmental Law Center, Virginia Conservation Network, and Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy – joined the call to extend the moratorium.
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Chris Graham
