Since our inception in 1981, the George Wiley Center has focused on Utility Justice. 

Dedicated to organizing around utility access for over 30 years, the George Wiley Center has had a vigilant presence in Rhode Island as well as been a leader organization nationwide. George Wiley Center staff have also played an important role in supporting others interested in Utility Justice organizing, offering coaching, strategy, and alliance with grassroots groups around the country.

Over the years we have worked to win many victories, we hope you will join us to push for more humane utility policies in Rhode Island!

 

Some of what our people power has won so far:

 

- Educated thousands of Rhode Islanders on how to exercise their rights as utility consumers, through "Know Your Utility Rights" meetings, presentations, clinics, and daily individual phone consultations.

 

- Won extension of Winter Moratorium, offering protection from utility shut-offs to vulnerable households during the cold season.

 

- Won first in the country, protection from utility termination during heat waves in the summer.
 

- Pushed for passage of the "Henry Shelton Act" (named after the George Wiley Center founder and now known as the Arrears Management Program), offering affordable 10% down payments and 60% forgiveness on total back utility bills for low-income consumers. 

 

- Coordinated annual GWC Statewide Utility Clinic, gathering under one roof support for low-income consumers on utility issues along with assistance offered by various social service agencies. Sparked and collaborated on subsequent similar clinics, modeled after our Utility Clinic, that have been offered by the utility company and other service organizations.

 

- Fought for and won the strongest child protection in the country, utility service protection for households in financial hardship with children under 2 years old.
 

- Fostered utility consumers advocating for ourselves and others, offering support, advice, and solidarity by George Wiley Center community advocates during informal hearings at the Division of Public Utilities.

 

- Defended ability of utility consumers to exercise our rights to a hearing at the Division of Public Utilities, with non-lawyer peer supporters or advocates (if requested and available) in attendance. In 2007 attempts were made to limit attendance to only attorneys, as a response to the George Wiley Center informing consumers of their rights and attending their hearings in support. But the George Wiley Center fought back and we were able to preserve the practice of non-attorney supportive attendees in the interest of broader democracy and empowering access to consumer rights.

- Won discounted Electric & Gas Rates for low-income households.

 

- Challenged the Division of Public Utilities to follow their own rules and through collective action and pressure successfully pushed for Emergency Restoration of utility service to medically vulnerable households. The rules that offer protection for utility consumers clearly state that the Division has the authority to order restoration of utility service in cases where health is at risk due to shut-off. We have successfully pressed for emergency restoration for medically vulnerable utility consumers whose utilities had been shut off.

 

- Successfully defended existing utility protections to vulnerable households in RI Utility Termination Rules. In 2013 drastic changes were proposed to "revise" the termination rules that would have significantly weakened or eliminated protections from utility termination, many of the protections that the George Wiley Center had fought for and won in the first place.  We rallied and mobilized directly affected consumers whose protections would have been at risk (elderly, low-income, domestic abuse victims, people with limited access to computers, people who suffer in the extreme heat, etc.), as well as allied groups and others, and with collective pressure we WON. At the end of 2014, the PUC agreed to close their original proposed docket, thereby preserving the existing utility protections that were in place.
 

- Proposed and won Emergency Regulations to allow affordable down payments for utility consumers to maintain or restore service, rules in place for 1-2 months in Nov to Dec, in recognition of the onset of winter and the need to make sure households have service turned back on before the cold season.