July 8, 2020
Mayor Buddy Dyer
400 South Orange Avenue
Orlando, Florida 32801
Dear Mayor Dyer,
Our undersigned state, regional and local organizations urge the Orlando Utilities Commission to take
immediate action to address the ongoing economic hardship impacting OUC customers in these
unprecedented times. We are deeply concerned with Orlando’s hometown utility commission board and
its June 9th announcement to resume disconnections on July 13th and late payment fees by August 3rd.
The Orlando Sentinel reported that while businesses seem to be reopening across the state and workers
are returning to their jobs, Central Florida is seeing a decline in jobs, as reported by the Department of
Economic Opportunity (DEO). The DEO recently revealed that Central Florida lost an estimated 56,300
jobs in the month of May 2020. Adding to the stress of unemployment, the state of Florida has failed to
disburse unemployment checks for working families that today struggle to pay their rent, medical bills
and now, their utility bills. In fact, 65% of OUC’s customers are renters, and low-income families are
facing utility bills that are higher than they should be due to the lack of energy efficiency programs
offered by our hometown utility.
Our communities are suffering now more than ever from the impacts of climate change. Experiencing
higher than normal temperatures in our energy-burdened communities means higher utility bills that we
cannot afford. In the midst of these crises, we have also now been a month into hurricane season. This
hurricane season is projected to be more active than usual. A direct hit or even an indirect hit by a storm
would cause even more devastation for our communities.
The COVID-19 crisis has increased exponentially throughout the state and within the Orlando
metropolitan area. The unprecedented spike (9,000 new cases in a single day) is adding more distress to
our working communities that are more susceptible to the health and economic impacts of the pandemic.
The organizations listed below represent a broad range of constituencies and issues yet share the same
concern that now is not the time to restart disconnections. As organizations invested in working with
vulnerable communities impacted by this pandemic, we ask that you direct the Orlando Utility
Commission to halt disconnections, reconnection fees, and late payment fees at least until September
30th, when we should have a better understanding of the current situation. We also urge OUC to
communicate a process that ensures their commitment to working with customers and will revert to
resume disconnections until they can show that our communities are ready to be able to make payments.