06-08-2020 BPU RPT 12 - Laserfiche WebLink

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W A T E R E N E R G Y L I F E RIVERSIDE PUBLIC UTILITIES • ' Board Memorandum P U B L I C U T I L I T I E S BOARD OF PUBLIC UTILITIES DATE: JUNE 8, 2020 ITEM NO: 12 SUBJECT: INCREASE THE SHARING HOUSEHOLDS ASSIST RIVERSIDE'S ENERGY PROGRAM'S ELECTRIC MONTHLY CREDIT TO $15.00 AND WATER MONTHLY CREDIT TO $2.75 TO ALIGN WITH YEARLY ELECTRIC AND WATER RATE INCREASES FOR FISCAL YEAR 2020/21 ISSUE: Recommend that the City Council approve an increase of the Sharing Households Assist Riverside's Energy Program's Electric Monthly Credit to $15.00 and Water Monthly Credit to $2.75 to align with electric and water rate increases for Fiscal Year 2020/21. RECOMMENDATION: That the Board of Public Utilities recommend that the City Council approve an increase of the Sharing Households Assist Riverside's Energy Program's Electric Monthly Credit from $14.50 per month to $15.00 and Water Monthly Credit from $2.50 to $2.75 to align with electric and water rate increases for Fiscal Year 2020/21. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: Assembly Bill (AB) 1890 was adopted in 1996, which required publicly owned utilities to collect and spend Public Benefits Charge funds for low-income assistance, energy efficiency and conservation programs, renewable energy, and research, development and demonstration projects. BACKGROUND: Riverside Public Utilities (RPU) established the Sharing Households Assist Riverside's Energy (SHARE) Program in 1989 to provide low-income residents with utility bill assistance. The SHARE Program was initially only supported with funding from direct customer contributions and donations. In 1999, RPU expanded the program with the utilization of a portion of the Public Benefits Charge funds in order to assist more customers. On May 22, 2018, the City Council approved changes to the SHARE Program to address the concerns that the then -proposed rate increases would impact low- and fixed income customers. The program enhancements included adjusting the income qualifications as well as instituting new monthly bill credits for both electric and water service. The expanded income limits changed from 150% of the Federal Poverty Level to 200% Federal Poverty Level. The new monthly bill credits included a credit of $14 per month for income -eligible electric customers and $2.25 per month for income -eligible water customers. These program changes were available to customers on July 1, 2018.