SPUR strongly supports the Customer Affordability and Arrearage Management Plan Pilot Program. During the COVID pandemic, the number of single-family residential accounts behind on water and wastewater bills more than tripled, and the average balance per delinquent account was $1,043. These debts could prove extremely difficult to repay for the City's low-income households, many of whom have experienced income loss, illness, and deaths in the family in the past year. The proposed pilot program is an innovative effort to determine how best to serve low-income customers that are behind on their water and wastewater bills. The results will be important not just for SFPUC, but for informing utility best practices on arrearages nationwide.
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