Each year, tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians face the loss of essential utility services because they can’t afford to keep up with their bill. This can trigger a host of legal consequences, including eviction, foreclosure, lien attachment, custody disputes, and family dependency proceedings. These harsh consequences can often be avoided - eliminating the need for more costly litigation, eviction proceedings, or bankruptcy by matching clients with the right assistance program(s) – or by helping the client to navigate the utility dispute process.
This session will provide a deep dive into the laws governing utility terminations and reconnections; the availability of utility assistance programs, including how to navigate program rules and remove artificial barriers to enrollment; and the utility dispute process. Presenters will also touch on other common utility issues, including special utility laws applicable to landlords and tenants, common billing and collections issues, submetering configurations, and utility resale/rebilling.
Ultimately, participants will leave this session equipped to effectively and efficiently resolve the most common utility-related disputes for residential utility consumers.
All attendees will receive the course book as a digital download.
Recorded in August 2022.