City Committee Approves Boost to Low-Income Utility Assistance

Pasadena’s Municipal Services Committee approved a modest increase to the city’s Electric Utility Assistance Program on Tuesday that would raise the monthly benefit for low-income residents from $10 to $13.46.

If ultimately OK’d by the full City Council, it would provide immediate financial relief to approximately 5,000 qualifying households as residents also grapple with the triple whammy of recent increases in water, sewer, and trash rates.

“The idea we’re not on a deadline. The sooner we get something in place, the sooner we can start implementing and having the cost savings go into effect or the credits going into effect,” said David Reyes, Acting General Manager of Pasadena Water and Power.

The increase will raise the benefit to match current fixed charges on residential electric bills, including the customer charge and grid access charge. This change is designed to enhance rate equity by allowing income-qualified customers to better manage fixed costs that don’t decrease with conservation efforts.

The update affects multiple assistance programs beyond the basic benefit, including CARES and CARES Plus programs. For example, CARES Plus customers will now receive around $22.46 per month in benefits.

Committee Members offered mixed reactions to the proposal.

Councilmember Tyron Hampton expressed reservations about the small size of the increase.

Councilmember Justin Jones noted, “I think we should definitely look at that and understand who are we trying to help here. I mean, the 5,000 residents are just as important as the other 5,000 or 10,000 that would fall outside of this that need help.”

The Committee discussed creating a Pasadena-specific income threshold table to better reflect the City’s high cost of living.

Discussions identified the need for proactive outreach to inform eligible residents about available programs, including suggestions to use robocalls.

Public speakers criticized the small increase, advocating for more substantial assistance including ideas like rooftop solar for low-income residents.

Some attendees also pointed out that neighboring utilities, like Glendale’s CARE program and Southern California Edison, offer more generous benefits.

The program update will cost an additional $200,000 annually, funded through the existing Public Benefits Charge that would not impact the City’s General Fund.

City staff members confirmed there are sufficient funds to cover the increase without compromising other existing programs.

Currently, about 9% of customers enrolled in the assistance program are in arrears on their utility bills. The City’s call center received 887 calls in one day, mostly related to billing issues, illustrating the scale of the problem.