Helping Customers Stay Connected

Safe and reliable energy is an essential component to powering the lives of the more than 2.2 million customers PECO serves across Southeastern Pennsylvania. A major component of that effort is helping to ensure everyone has access to electric and natural gas service. As energy costs continue to fluctuate, many families and individuals face challenges in managing their utility bills. That’s where PECO’s Community Engagement Team comes in, helping to bridge a financial gap, keep service connected and ensure that all customers have access to these essential services.

Led by PECO manager Patricia King, the Community Engagement Team works closely with financial assistance agencies, community partners, and other stakeholders across the city, state and region to help connect struggling customers with needed assistance. For King and her team, the role is more than a job; it’s part of a mission to help people, and a regular day at the office can change lives.

“My sister is a teacher’s assistant in a low-income school district. She told me about three siblings struggling in school,” says King, a 26-year PECO veteran. “It turns out that they had no utility service at home. She connected me with the school counselor, and we helped the family get a grant from LIHEAP (Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program). Within days, their service was restored, and the kids came to school happy, and ready to learn.”

PECO’s Community Engagement Team is responsible for enrolling qualified customers in PECO’s wide array of assistance programs, including LIHEAP. Stories like this fuel their passion for their work. “This is the kind of impact these programs have,” says King. “It’s what keeps me motivated to connect customers with the assistance.”

Helping people keep the lights on, the gas flowing and the heat pumping this winter is a vital part of PECO’s community outreach mission. Last year, over 45,000 customers received assistance through LIHEAP and over 120,000 customers received essential aid through other PECO assistance programs including debt forgiveness, reduced billings, hardship grants, and energy efficiency programs to ensure they have heat during the coldest winter months. Nationally, Pennsylvania is one of the top recipients of federal LIHEAP funds.

LIHEAP Day, an annual event devoted to helping customers sign up for energy assistance, is designed to make applying for assistance easy and welcoming. PECO provides food, music, and most importantly, access to resources such as personal help applying for LIHEAP grants. This year, the event will be broadcast over Classic 107.9, and feature radio host and hip-hop artist Lady B and DJ Touchstone.

LIHEAP Day is one of hundreds of events (some virtual, others in person) to raise awareness about the assistance programs, and help customers who may not realize they qualify.

PECO is in the community with neighborhood “energy centers,” where customers can walk in and get the resources they need to apply for assistance. BJ McDuffie, a manager with the Energy Coordinating Agency, or ECA, explains that her group runs a network of 16 energy centers around Philadelphia to offer help to anyone who needs it.

“At Community Engagement, our top priority is our customers,” adds Issa Balde, PECO’s Senior Community Relations Specialist. “We want to meet them where they are. So we conduct over 250 outreach events a year — in person, virtually or on the phone.”

“I love to help people, so to be able to incorporate that in my day-to-day job is a very uplifting thing to wake up to every morning,” Balde says. “Making sure our customers are energy secure at the end of the day is a job well done.”

What: LIHEAP Day, an annual event to help qualified customers sign up for assistance

When: Thursday, November 14, 2024, from 2 to 6 p.m.

Where: PECO Headquarters, 2301 Market Street, Philadelphia

“The focus of these programs is in fighting poverty,” King says. “When you think about poverty, you typically think about housing insecurity and food insecurity, which are definitely social determinants of poverty. But there is also energy insecurity. And that is the piece we often miss.” Energy insecurity is also linked to homelessness, she says. “One of the precursors to becoming homeless is the loss of utilities. A home without heat, gas or electricity is not sustainable for long.”

Antoinette Mason, a grant recipient, says that PECO’s Community Engagement Team gave her a fresh start when she was unable to pay her bill. “The Community Engagement Team gave me great service. They were an unexpected blessing, honestly,” Mason says. “I had a really high bill that I had been trying to pay down. I felt like a hamster on a wheel. No matter how much my efforts were going toward the bill, I felt I still owed more. So, through their services, they definitely helped me gather myself and start over. It was a restart.”

“No one should have to choose between paying the electric bill and putting food on the table.”

King believes in the power of these assistance programs to change lives for the better. “Helping people get assistance and keep their utilities on is undeniably rewarding,” she says. “Seeing the joy and relief on customers’ faces, especially the kids and older folks, is heartwarming.”

The PECO Community Engagement Team enrolls customers in PECO assistance programs all year long and assists customers with LIHEAP over a six-month period from November to April.

PECO has a comprehensive array of assistance programs to address energy insecurity, including helping customers facing temporary or ongoing financial hardship. “Our goal is to ensure that everyone, regardless of their circumstances, has access to essential utility services,” says King. Some customers qualify for more than one of these services. These programs can be found at peco.com/HELP and include:

LUCY DANZIGER is a journalist, author and the former editor-in-chief of Self magazine, Women Sports & Fitness, and The Beet.