Help with Utility Bills is Available at Virtual Assistance Fairs

PHILADELPHIA — The City of Philadelphia is again extending a freeze on shutoffs for residential customers, protecting those account holders from losing water services until June 30, 2022.

The extension is designed to provide additional time to apply for assistance. Customers in need of help with bills should not wait until the last minute to apply for assistance.

The Philadelphia Water Department, in partnership with PECO and Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW), is hosting a series of virtual events, spread throughout February and March, to help get customers past the hurdle of starting an application by making it easier to fill out paperwork and forms.

In addition, customers with past-due water bills may be eligible for grants from the new Pennsylvania Department of Human Services Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP). Philadelphia Water Department customers may receive up to $5,000 towards delinquent water bills. To learn more and apply, visit dhs.pa.gov/waterhelp.

These sessions will feature customer service staff from PWD and PECO. PGW customers can sign up to have a representative reach out to them directly for assistance. The effort is organized through the utilities and community organizations.

The events, which started on February 9, will be held on Wednesday evenings in February and March from 4–8 p.m. and select Saturdays from 10 a.m.–2 p.m.

Customers must register at water.phila.gov/utility-fairs. Once registered, participants will get follow-up information about what paperwork is needed to apply for help.

Philadelphia created one of the nation’s first income- and hardship-based affordability programs, and ways to get help have been expanded in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: Many Ways to Get Water Bill Help in Philadelphia.