A guide for action
Action briefings — one for every desk that can move this forward.
What you can do depends on where you sit.
Each tab below is a memo addressed to one of the people, offices, or organizations who can change shutoff policy. Read yours. Forward another to whoever needs it.
Pick your role. The page rewrites itself to show only what applies.
Congress · Action briefing 00 / 08
Congress
Recommended actions — 10
No-brainer
Low lift · start now
No-regrets
Worth the effort
No-fear
Bold · high impact
- 01No-brainerConvene hearings on the impact of shutoffs and invite testimony from individuals and community leaders who have been impacted firsthand.
- 02No-brainerEnsure continuation and expansion of the EIA 112 survey on electric and gas shutoffs, including sufficient funding for conducting, analyzing, and releasing the survey results.
- 03No-brainerEstablish a national ban on shutoffs and automatic service reconnection during periods of high heat.
- 04No-brainerEstablish 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
- 05No-brainerOffer financial incentives for the adoption of model state, local, and utility practices to end shutoffs.
- 06No-brainerEstablish 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.
- 07No-regretsPass 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.
- 08No-regretsAmend 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.
- 09No-fearCreate 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.
- 10No-fearTax profits of monopoly-owned utilities to establish a national shutoff protection fund that delivers long-term energy affordability to all households.
References and Notes
- 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. ↑
Tsunami of Shutoffs · eep.energy10 actions · pp. 01
00Congress
Congress
You write the national floor. The statutes, surveys, and incentives that shape every state and utility begin here.
Recommended actions — 10
No-brainer
No-regrets
No-fear
- No-brainerConvene hearings on the impact of shutoffs and invite testimony from individuals and community leaders who have been impacted firsthand.
- No-brainerEnsure 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-brainerEstablish a national ban on shutoffs and automatic service reconnection during periods of high heat.
- No-brainerEstablish 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-brainerOffer financial incentives for the adoption of model state, local, and utility practices to end shutoffs.
- No-brainerEstablish 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-regretsPass 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-regretsAmend 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-fearCreate 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-fearTax profits of monopoly-owned utilities to establish a national shutoff protection fund that delivers long-term energy affordability to all households.
References and Notes
- 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. ↑