A guide for action

Action briefings — Explore Shutoff Abolition actions for various decision makers

Action briefings — Explore Shutoff Abolition actions for various decision makers

Select a decision maker to view potential actions in each category.

00Congress

Congress

Recommended actions — 10
No brainers
No regrets
No fears
  • No brainers
    Convene hearings on the impact of shutoffs and invite testimony from individuals and community leaders who have been impacted firsthand.
  • No brainers
    Ensure continuation and expansion of the EIA 112 survey on electric and gas shutoffs, including sufficient funding for conducting, analyzing, and releasing the survey results.
  • No brainers
    Establish a national ban on shutoffs and automatic service reconnection during periods of high heat.
  • No brainers
    Establish requirements for national utility shutoff protections and restorations for extreme temperatures, poor air quality, and vulnerable populations, applicable to all utilities, regardless of their governance, financial, or operating structure.1
  • No brainers
    Offer financial incentives for the adoption of model state, local, and utility practices to end shutoffs.
  • No brainers
    Establish a Statistical Value of Shutoffs, similar to the federal government’s Statistical Value of Life, for use in a wide array of regulatory proceedings and utility planning.
  • No regrets
    Pass a renewed version of HR 1478, a resolution that recognizes access to water, sanitation, electricity, heating, cooling, broadband communications, and public transportation as basic human rights.
  • No regrets
    Amend the goals of PURPA to support continuous access to energy and include requirements for financial contributions to affordability programs through alternative energy suppliers and power purchase agreements.
  • No fears
    Create a national utility that allows states and local governments to opt-in to services or establish their own franchises.
    The national utility should offer services that accelerate affordable and equitable electrification, access to solar and storage, enrollment in demand response and beneficial time of use rates, and development of microgrids.
  • No fears
    Tax profits of monopoly-owned utilities to establish a national shutoff protection fund that delivers long-term energy affordability to all households.

References and Notes

  1. Because of climate change, protections for extreme temperatures should include both seasonal (i.e. date-based) protections and protections for specific weather thresholds. For instance, standard protections for extreme heat in the Southwest might span April 1–October 31 (when temperatures >100°F are common), but should also include protections for historically early heat waves, as experienced in 2026, when temperatures in California reached 112°F in March.