His group, like National Grid, promotes the use of payment plans to help people get back on track with their utility bills.

“As a practical matter utilities don’t want to shut off the heat during the heating season,” said Richard Berkley, executive director of the Public Utility Law Project, which advocates for utility consumers, especially low-income customers. “We have paused disconnection activity at this time per state direction,” Stella added.Ĭonsumer advocates agreed that New Yorkers who are in arrears aren’t in immediate danger of losing their power or heat. The company has long said it offers payment plans for customers to catch up with their bills over time and notes that there are state and federal assistance plans such as the Home Energy Assistance Plan (HEAP) that can offset some utility bills. He said the utility has 'seen an increase in customers falling behind in their payments since the pandemic began.' We are not going door to door asking for payments, we are going door to door to provide information to customers we understand may be having trouble with their utility bill and providing them information on programs that may be helpful to them,” National Grid spokesman Patrick Stella said in an email. National Grid stressed that the latest effort is more educational than punitive. And even then, most experts say utility companies are loath to cut off gas and power in the middle of winter. That’s because a state-mandated pause on shutoffs remains in effect until mid-January.

Records also show they had “termination notices” going to 56,393 customers worth almost $43.9 million in unpaid bills.Ĭustomers, though, shouldn’t worry just yet about their lights or heat being turned off. National Grid as of September had bills worth $387.1 million that were in arrears or had gone unpaid for more than 60 days, the highest amount in recent history. The new collection effort is the latest sign that the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are still with us and are playing out in a number of ways.

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