Murray expands Utility Discount Program

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Ashli Blow

Ashli Blow Jan 12, 2018

Jan 12, 2018

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                <h1>Murray expands Utility Discount Program</h1>
                <h2><p>For years, the Utility Discount Program (UDP), meant to lighten the electric bills of low-income residents, has gone underused thanks to the bureaucratic burden of applying. In an effort to boost participation, Mayor Ed Murray announced Thursday that residents of subsidized housing would be automatically enrolled into the program.

According</p></h2>
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               <p>By <a href="/author/ashli-blow/">Ashli Blow</a></p> 
              <p><time datetime="2025-02-04T05:00:00-08:00">Jan 12, 2018</time></p>
            </header>
            <p>For years, the Utility Discount Program (UDP), meant to lighten the electric bills of low-income residents, has gone underused thanks to the bureaucratic burden of applying. In an effort to boost participation, Mayor Ed Murray announced Thursday that residents of subsidized housing would be automatically enrolled into the program.</p><p>According to the Mayor's Office, 18,000 customers currently use the UDP. Murray predicts 5,000 more families will be folded into the program as a result of automatic enrollment. He has set a goal of 28,000 customers by 2018. While the Housing Finance Commission will share the addresses of units that fall into the UDP eligibility range, the Mayor's Office said names and other personal information will be kept anonymous.</p><p>Councilmembers Sally Bagshaw, John Okamoto and Kshama Sawant all expressed support for the new approach, which switches the burden from opting in to opting out.</p>
          </article>

For years, the Utility Discount Program (UDP), meant to lighten the electric bills of low-income residents, has gone underused thanks to the bureaucratic burden of applying. In an effort to boost participation, Mayor Ed Murray announced Thursday that residents of subsidized housing would be automatically enrolled into the program.

According to the Mayor's Office, 18,000 customers currently use the UDP. Murray predicts 5,000 more families will be folded into the program as a result of automatic enrollment. He has set a goal of 28,000 customers by 2018. While the Housing Finance Commission will share the addresses of units that fall into the UDP eligibility range, the Mayor's Office said names and other personal information will be kept anonymous.

Councilmembers Sally Bagshaw, John Okamoto and Kshama Sawant all expressed support for the new approach, which switches the burden from opting in to opting out.

By Ashli Blow

Ashli Blow is a Seattle-based freelance writer who talks with people — in places from urban watersheds to remote wildernesses — about the environment around them. She’s been working in journal