Owensboro Municipal Utilities announced a new plan on Thursday that will allow residential and commercial customers who are past-due on their utility payments to repay what they owe in increments. According to officials, this plan will affect approximately 1,700 residential customers who owe $1.5 million in past-due expenses.
Gov. Andy Beshear barred public utilities from disconnecting past-due customers across the state on May 18, though OMU voluntarily halted those beginning in March.
With that order putting a financial strain on public utility companies, Beshear recently said it would expire Nov. 6 — marking the final weeks of past-due customers getting by without late fees or disconnections.
OMU General Manager Kevin Frizzell announced during Thursday’s meeting that OMU would follow Beshear’s lead in setting a deadline marking the reinstatement of disconnections for late payments. Per the governor’s orders, any past-due bills that are issued after Oct. 25 will not be put into customers’ payment plans.
“Customers must pay their bill and past-due installment to remain current,” Frizzell said. “Late fees will not be withheld, so they will be applied starting Nov. 6.”
Frizzell said OMU’s plan to recoup back payments would involve establishing a payment plan for customers. Each individualized payment plan will be completely developed by OMU staff so that the burden isn’t put on customers.
Those who owe $26-$400 in late payments will have a plan that spreads payments out over six months and will be attached to each customer’s monthly utility bill. Those who owe $400-$1,200 will have between six and nine months to make payments, while those who owe over $1,200 will be issued a 15-month payment plan.
According to Frizzell, the average amount owed by past-due OMU customers is $804, meaning many will fall into the six- to nine-month range for repayment.
“We do have some residential customers with large balances,” Frizzell said. “The governor’s orders encourage utility companies to work with customers. If they just can’t pay, we’ll do what we can to work with them to become current.”
Residential customers put on payment plans will not incur late fees, and Frizzell estimated that disconnections wouldn’t happen until early December. Late fees will remain suspended for all past-due customers until Dec. 31 and will resume on Jan. 1, 2021.
“You won’t see disconnections right off the bat,” he said.
OMU’s commercial customers, however, will not be given the same flexibility in repaying their utility bills. Frizzell said commercial customers did not fall under Beshear’s plan, so OMU will have those customers pay their past-due balances over six monthly payments that will be evenly split.
In light of the announcement, Frizzell said he expected an increased number of drive-thru customers to stop by OMU to make payments and ask questions. Because of that, OMU will reopen its lobby to in-person traffic starting Dec. 1.
“We will have all COVID-19 measures in place,” he said, adding that a limited number of people would be allowed in the lobby at one time, and only one person per household would be let inside. Masks will be required as well.
Frizzell commended OMU’s customer service staff for their hard work throughout the pandemic, saying he believed the company’s repayment program would be beneficial to everyone. Each of OMU’s 1,700 customers with past-due bills would soon receive a direct mail notification regarding their individual payment plan and potential disconnection if those bills remained unpaid, he said.
“I think this is much-needed for our business,” he said. “I think it’s fair to the customer and fair to us.”
—–
