Extreme Heat Moratorium
RCW 54.16.285 – Effective July 23, 2023
When the National Weather Service (NWS) has announced a pending heat event, the District will suspend its standard practice pertaining to residential non-payment related disconnections and reconnections.
All new Disconnections for Non-Payment (DNP) will be put on hold once the NWS has announced a pending heat event.
Customers who have previously been DNP are allowed to request reconnection during the heat event. Once a reconnection request is received the District must promptly make a reasonable attempt to reconnect service to the dwelling as required by law.
The District defines “reasonable attempt to reconnect service” as an effort that does not require the installation of facilities beyond installing a meter. Reasonable reconnection should typically be able to be performed by a single serviceman and should not require approval by an agency outside of the District.
Reconnection requests will be handled following the District’s existing practices. Requests made during business hours will be received by customer service and passed on to Engineering/Operations (E&O). After hours reconnection requests will be routed through the call center to E&O following standard practices.
The District will not require up-front payment prior to reconnection, however all charges accrued during and related to the heat event will be added to the customer’s account. This includes energy usage, and all other applicable charges and fees.