For More Information Contact:
Charles Dalton, 984-4735, or Lance Robertson, 984-4716
Eugene Water & Electric Board

Oct. 30, 2008

Anonymous donor gives $300,000 to help limited-income customers with winter electric bills

A Eugene resident has anonymously donated $300,000 to the Eugene Water & Electric Board to help lower-income customers who are struggling to pay their utility bills.

The donation to EWEB’s Customer Care program will help an additional 1,500 households with bill-assistance payments this winter. The donation is about 12 times bigger than the previous largest one-time donation and will triple the amount of money that is normally donated each year to help limited-income customers in need of bill-payment assistance.

“This generous donation is huge, because it comes at a time when many customers are feeling the effects of the poor economy,” said Charles Dalton, who coordinates EWEB’s Customer Care program. “The need is great. Local unemployment, food costs and housing costs are all on the rise. This also is the time of year when utility bills rise as people use more electricity to heat their homes.”

“The donor is very aware that many people in our community will be struggling to meet their basic needs this winter,” added Eugene attorney Ellen Adler, who represents the anonymous donor. “The donor wanted to respond to that need, and hopes that the gift inspires others to contribute and to support the good and important work done by this program (Customer Care).”

The gift was facilitated by the Oregon Community Foundation, which works with individuals, families, businesses and organizations to create charitable funds to support community causes they care about. The EWEB donation came through an existing OCF-advised fund and was passed on to EWEB’s Customer Care program, so that the donation can remain anonymous.

The donation funds will be used to provide bill-payment assistance to EWEB customers between now and the end of March 2009.

EWEB’s Customer Care program provides once-a-year payments of up to $200 for qualified households, based on income and number of residents. More than 7,000 customers were helped last year from donations and rate-based funds totaling more than $1.5 million. EWEB’s limited assistance program is one of the most robust in the nation, on a per-customer basis. EWEB also provides more than $1 million annually to help income-qualified families weatherize homes.