Tens of thousands in Charlotte faced utility shutoff in pandemic. They’re OK for now.
Tens of thousands of North Carolina customers could have been disconnected from electric, gas and water service during the coronavirus pandemic if not for a pause in shutoffs.
Duke Energy says 69,000 customers in Charlotte and the state’s western end would have qualified for disconnections since March 13, when Duke temporarily suspended them during the crisis. The utility serving them, Duke Energy Carolinas, serves 2 million N.C. customers.
In reports to the state Utilities Commission, Charlotte-based Piedmont Natural Gas says nearly 23,000 customers could have been disconnected. Charlotte Water reported more than 18,000 suspended disconnections.
The relief granted by utilities and mandated by the state delays but doesn’t forgive settling overdue bills. Consumer advocates worry that, amid record unemployment, many utility customers won’t be able to pay mounting debts despite a six-month repayment period.
Duke says customers will be responsible for paying their bills but urges those who are struggling to contact customer service now to work out payment options and schedules.
“We’re still continuing to read meters and send bills and ask customers to pay what they can to avoid building up a large balance that will be harder to pay off later,” spokesman Neil Nissan said. “Once we are beyond the freezes on disconnections, we still intend to work with any customer who needs arrangements of six months or in some cases even longer.”
Duke bases its disconnection figures on customers who are 60 days or longer behind on their bills. A different measure, delinquencies among Duke Energy Carolinas customers who are 30 days or longer in arrears, shows an 8 percent increase from April 2019 to April 2020.
The state Utilities Commission ordered electric, gas, water and sewer utilities to suspend disconnections and waive late fees on March 19, following Gov. Roy Cooper’s March 10 declaration of a pandemic state of emergency. Most major utilities, including Duke and Piedmont, had already done so.
The commission also ordered that, after the state of emergency, utilities grant customers a “reasonable payment arrangement” over at least a six-month period to settle overdue bills, without late fees incurred during the emergency.
On March 31, Cooper issued an executive order prohibiting utility disconnections of residential customers through May 31 and allowing late payments for six months after that date.
In its most recent report to Cooper, on May 4, the commission said 146 utilities had kept serving more than 88,000 residential customers who would otherwise have been disconnected between April 19 and April 25 alone.
This story was originally published May 14, 2020 at 3:50 PM.