Today, the Seattle City Council unanimously passed the largest expansion of an affordability program in the City’s recent memory. Council Bill 121222, sponsored by Councilmember Dan Strauss (District 6) and co-sponsored by Council President Joy Hollingsworth (District 3), expands the city’s Utility Discount Program to include 31,000 new low-income households, saving them more than $1,000 per year, depending on their usage.    

“This legislation strikes directly at one of our city’s biggest issues — Seattle is unaffordable for too many working people. Utility costs are housing costs, and for so many in our community, these costs can be the difference between making rent or falling behind. This legislation is one of the fastest, most effective ways we can put money back into the pockets of working families who need it most,” said Councilmember Strauss.

Under the legislation, starting in January 2027, households that earn less than 60 percent of the area median income will be eligible for a 60 percent discount on their Seattle City Light bills and a 50 percent discount on their Seattle Public Utilities bills.

“This legislation takes an essential step forward to improve affordability for Seattleites. As utility costs continue to rise, we need to provide relief for Seattleites. I want to thank Councilmember Strauss for his leadership on pushing this forward,” said Council President Hollingsworth.

What the legislation does

One of the problems with the current Utility Discount Program is that eligibility is based on state median income, which is much lower than the area median income measure used by all other affordability programs. That means tens of thousands of low-income people who should qualify for the Utility Discount Program do not right now.

This legislation corrects that and expands the program to all households earning less than 60 percent of the area median income.

Of the 31,000 new households who would qualify for the Utility Discount Program, it is estimated that 8,800 are senior households, many of whom are rent burdened and on fixed incomes.

The expanded discount for low-income families would be paid for with a very minimal increase to rates, averaging just 50 cent per month for Seattle City Light customers and 27 cents per month for Seattle Public Utilities customers.

Councilmember Strauss also worked with city departments and community advocates to amend the bill to request annual reports on efforts to increase participation in the Utility Discount Program starting next year and ending in 2031. This will help ongoing work to ensure as many people as possible who are eligible for the program are enrolled in it.

Councilmember Strauss thanks the dozens of city employees across many different departments, including Seattle City Light, Seattle Public Utilities, the Human Services Department, and the City Budget Office for their work on this legislation.

What’s next?

This legislation takes effect January 1, 2027. The legislation also kickstarts work to expand some level of utility discount to households making 70 percent of median income by 2028 and 80 percent of median income by 2029.

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