NOTE: This event has already taken place. See below for recording and event description.
Download the slides | Creative approaches to utility payment assistance programs (PDF)
Coming out of the COVID economy and into an inflationary one has left a lot of utilities with a lot of debt as many low- and moderate-income customers have struggled to keep up-to-date with payments. Managing arrears while maintaining flexibility for struggling customers is a balancing act for utilities with no universal recipe. Fortunately, there are many methods to managing arrears that utilities all over the US and Canada have used and are willing to share. Join us to discuss what they’ve learned about their assistance programs.
This is an E Source exchange. It’s an online conversation where you can share ideas on specific topics with other utility professionals. In this exchange, we’ll bring together utility peers to discuss the lessons learned from carrying out payment assistance programs to help customers in arrears.
This exchange will cover:
- Successes and challenges of payment assistance programs
- Assistance strategies, such as percentage-of-income payment programs, bill discounts, and arrearage forgiveness
- Key metrics to monitor after implementation
Moderator:
Ben Nathan, Lead Analyst, Customer Energy Solutions, E Source