New York households owe an estimated $1.7 billion in overdue bills for heating, electricity, water, telephone, and internet.
The American Association of Retired Persons and the Public Utility Law Project want state lawmakers to use federal American Rescue Plan money to cover the overdue balances.
The groups say the alternative could be shutoffs of utilities and services.
They say more than one million households in the state fell behind on their bills during the pandemic and they say rising costs for energy may put families even further behind.