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

December 10, 2008

Customer Care campaign seeks donations

The Eugene Water & Electric Board has launched its annual Customer Care donation campaign to raise additional funds for limited-income bill-payment assistance.

This EWEB-funded program provides lower-income customers with up to $200 a year to help pay utility bills. The assistance is given in the form of a bill credit. About 7,000 households are helped annually.

This year’s donation campaign already has been helped enormously by an anonymous $300,000 donation in November. The funds will allow EWEB to help an additional 1,500 households this winter heating season. The Run to Stay Warm on Nov. 22 also raised close to $10,000 for the Customer Care program.

EWEB customers will receive a brochure in their December bill, urging them to donate to Customer Care. A radio ad being aired on local stations asks customers to “round up” their bill to the next $10 or $20 increment. Customers also can donate by calling EWEB at 484-6016 during normal business hours.

In previous years, generous customers have donated up to $170,000, which supplements the roughly $1.5 million that is budgeted each year through electric and water rates to help limited-income customers. EWEB’s assistance program is one of the most generous in the nation, on a per capita basis.

EWEB also has a program for the families of active-duty military personnel, as well as a limited-income energy weatherization program. The City of Eugene and the Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission also provide funding, since customers can receive assistance for any charge on their EWEB bill.