As a moratorium on utility shutoffs ends, NC’s poor face a loss or water and electricity
Over the past months, North Carolina lawmakers have attempted to respond to crises of historical proportions. The public health disaster, exacerbated by inept federal response, and continued police brutality is forcing the state to reckon with its racist past and present
.In a public statement in June, Attorney General Josh Stein said: “The systematic racism that African Americans experience – whether it’s in the criminal justice system, in the economy… is wrong ... because Black lives matter.”
As a Black man whose work is centered on democratizing North Carolina’s electric utility system, this is not new to me. Unfortunately, less than a month after his statement, Stein issued a waiver of the state’s current utility-shutoff moratorium to Elizabeth City, allowing it to begin disconnecting services to customers unable to keep up with their monthly bills. Services like water and electricity have life-or-death consequences for people when the summer heat is at its peak, and especially now during the pandemic.
As a result of COVID-19, our country is also in the midst of an unprecedented economic spiral, one that disproportionately affects Black and Brown communities who are experiencing higher rates of both job loss and viral infection while receiving notably less funding from the federal programs than white communities.
The utility landscape is no different. Those struggling most to keep up with their bills are Black and brown, and as such, those who will lose utility services are Black and Latino. Those who will go hungry because they opt for electricity instead of food are Black and Latino. Those who will die because they can’t refrigerate insulin or keep their homes at a safe temperature are Black and Latino.
This action by the attorney general is not isolated. At Tuesday’s Council of State meeting, several council members expressed concerns about the impact to city utilities of the governor’s Executive Order 142, which extends the prohibition of utility shutoffs to July 29. Gov. Roy Cooper himself indicated he is unlikely to renew the order.
The actions of the executive branch are mirrored by the relative inaction of the General Assembly, where not a single member, Democrat or Republican, stood up and advocated for working class families when the state’s coronavirus response bill passed unanimously. The bill, HB 1023, uses $300 million in federal funds intended to support people during the pandemic to instead balance the Department of Transportation’s budget — contrary to federal guidelines for the money. Meanwhile, the legislature provided zero dollars for utility, rental or mortgage assistance for people in need.
By refusing to prioritize the health and well-being of the more than 1 million families that are vulnerable to water or electricity shutoffs, we are creating another layer of crisis at a scale we’ve never seen. Policies have death tolls. Those disproportionately affected by the decisions of our state’s leaders are overwhelmingly Black, Brown and low-income individuals of all races, and a refusal to protect these communities to the same extent we protect North Carolina’s more affluent communities is the same homicidal racism that has driven communities to the streets in recent weeks.
The actions of our elected officials in recent weeks amount to a complete failure at every level of state government. Shame on Josh Stein and Roy Cooper. Shame on Senate leader Phil Berger and the General Assembly for leaving town as North Carolina families continue to suffer. But shame is not enough. We must use our collective voices to ensure that essential services are provided to all North Carolinians, especially when most vulnerable. If we don’t, and our elected leaders fail to treat utility disconnections as a deep crisis, people will die.
North Carolinians must call on the governor to extend his Executive Order 142, and call on elected officials at every level of government to protect all communities from utility shutoffs.