Dear John,
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Help stop the spread of COVID by stopping water and electricity shutoffs!
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Access to water and electricity are fundamental human rights. And they’re even more important during a pandemic when people are spending more time at home. Take action to demand a moratorium on utility shutoffs for some of the most impacted communities in the US.
Without water, you can’t wash your hands, clean yourself and your children, or your home. Without power, you can’t properly control the temperature in your home, keep food and medicines refrigerated, or access remote learning tools.
But despite all this, communities are getting their utilities shut off -- with literal life and death consequences. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
Demand the federally-owned Tennessee Valley Authority adopt a moratorium on utility shutoffs.
The TVA is a government-owned entity that generates electricity for ten million people in the Southeast, which is distributed through local utility companies. Thousands of people who cannot pay are getting their water and electricity cut.
For example, TVA supplies electricity to Memphis, TN, where the poorest residents already spend a staggering 25 percent of their monthly income on utilities. With the pandemic, thousands of Memphians do not have the ability to pay off their growing utility bills while they face loss of income, food insecurity, and medical debt. In September, the Memphis utility company began shutoffs -- cutting electricity to 400 people every 15 minutes.
This is immoral. We need the TVA to institute a shutoff moratorium for Memphis and all the communities they serve throughout the region. Otherwise, COVID-19 will continue to spread as people are forced to congregate at friends and families’ homes or shelters to access water and warmth.
We need your help, John, to stand with residents who are struggling to keep their families safe.
Ensure energy security. Take action to keep utilities on!
People of color are six to fifteen times more likely than White people to have had utilities disconnected during the pandemic.
Black and Brown communities already are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, experiencing higher rates of job loss and viral infections. Utility shutoffs just add another layer to the crises that disproportionately impact communities of color.
But the TVA is a federally-owned agency, and you have a voice. Can we count on you to demand the TVA provide access to water and electricity for all its customers?
Urge the TVA to guarantee power and water for all its customers throughout the pandemic.
Standing with you,
Michelle Chan,
VP of programs,
Friends of the Earth
