Councilmember Mike O'Brien, chairman of the Public Utilities and Neighborhoods committee, has launched a drive to make more low-income households aware of their eligibility for public utilities rate assistance. An estimated 55,000 households in Seattle are eligible for assistance—which would cut their utility bills in half—but only around 20% of them are taking advantage of the program.

O'Brien and his allies at Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) want to reach the other 80%. They are hosting sign-up events at five locations throughout the city and offering interpretation into 21 different languages.

How do you know if you qualify for assistance? You qualify if you meet (meaning are at or below) the following income guidelines:

Since the kickoff event was way the fuck down in Georgetown at St. Vincent de Paul, I wasn't able to attend. After all, as Dominic likes to say, "That coffee isn't going to retrieve itself from down the street." However, I did get a chance to talk to Michael May, Senior Public Relations Specialist at SPU.

May told me they are hosting the sign-up events and providing interpretation services because many of the eligible customers don't get their information through traditional channels and/or face a language barrier. Describing the basics of the program, he said, "You get 50% off your SPU or City Light bill for 18 months. You have to reapply or confirm your status after 18 months are up."

Being the tax-hating market anarchist that I am, my biggest question was how depriving the city of utility bill payments might effect what is already a pretty gloomy budget. May did not know for certain but did say, "We are prepared to have people apply for this program," indicating that there might be some contingency in place.

There is one important caveat—if you live in public housing of any sort, even federally subsidized housing, you are not eligible. You can get more details on a special page SPU has created.