GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – Beginning Monday, utility companies in Wisconsin have the option to disconnect services to customers who are not paying their bills as the winter heating moratorium ends.
Essentially, it prohibits companies from pulling the plug on customers who fall behind on payments from November 1 to April 15.
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“Today is the end of Wisconsin’s winter heating moratorium. This is a chance for us to urge our customers who may have fallen behind on their energy bills to reach out to us right away so that we can work with them and help them stay connected to our system,” Wisconsin Public Services spokesperson Matt Cullen said. We can offer them payment plans and payment options and connect them with energy assistance options that they may qualify for.
Most customers can arrange these plans and options via phone call, website, or app.
“It’s really just about letting our customers know what the status of their account is, and we understand that some customers may be facing challenging circumstances,” Cullen said. “We let them know about their status and the potential that they may be at risk of disconnection by sending them information in the mail letting them know about the status of their account.”
Just because April 15 has rolled around the calendar does not mean that companies are going to pull the plug on customers yet, but it should be a call to action for those struggling.
“If a customer establishes and maintains a payment plan with us, they are no longer at risk of disconnection,” Cullen said. “We would urge our customers to reach out to us, start that process. Disconnection always is and always has been a last resort for us.”
Payment plans can be arranged to balance bills throughout the year at most energy companies.
“They can reach out to us. We can provide them with payment plans that help them get caught up on past due bills,” Cullen said. “They might be able to take advantage of our budget billing option, which does help spread out your annual energy costs over the course of 12 months instead of having those highs and lows that you might otherwise see.”
Due to a warm winter and lower natural gas prices, customers across Wisconsin and different companies have seen major savings, $200 on average per customer at WPS and $150 for We Energies. Both companies are part of the WEC Energy Group.
“Our customers have seen some savings in that regard from this year to last year, when you compare them together, but again, we understand that some customers might be having difficulty with their bills,” Cullen said.
For those in need of further assistance, federal and state grants may be available.
“There is significant federal assistance that is available, the state of Wisconsin has as much as $150 million worth of heating assistance, which is available to low income customers this heating season,” Cullen said.
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With the moratorium over, scammers take prime target at people by making threats and requesting immediate payment or quickly planning to cut power to victims. Cullen says if there is any mention of immediacy, it is likely fraudulent as most companies will give customers sufficient time and will not request money to be transferred during a phone call.
“Oftentimes they’ll tell customers that they have to make their payment through a prepaid debit card or a third party app such as Zelle or Venmo, or maybe even an unusual payment method such as Bitcoin.”
