May 13, 2020 – Norwich Public Utilities (NPU) is announcing a new initiative, the Special Payment Arrangement (SPA) program to assist customers who have fallen behind on their utility bills as a result of the Pandemic.

“NPU is fully committed to doing all that we can to help our customers during this unprecedented time,” said Chris LaRose, General Manager of NPU. “And with the SPA program, we are offering our customers more time to catch up on their bills without incurring late payment penalty fees.”

Under NPU’s new SPA program:

• Penalty-free payment plans will be offered to all customers requesting assistance through July 1^st, 2020, regardless of their payment history with NPU.
• SPA plans can be extended over a maximum of 24 months (July 1 2022).
• Current charges and the agreed-upon SPA payment must be paid on time each month for customers to remain in eligible for the program.
• Customers with existing payment arrangements are eligible to recalculate their agreement with NPU and participate in the SPA program.

As a result of the Pandemic, NPU has seen a significant reduction in its revenues across all four utilities – natural gas, water, electric and sewer. Based on the most recent calculations, more than 20% of NPU customers are past due on their accounts, representing more than $1.4 million in revenue.

“We recognize that these are unprecedented times in our community and across our nation,” said LaRose. “We continue to support the State’s moratorium on utility shut-offs and have temporarily suspended the collection of security deposits.”

To learn more about the program, contact NPU’s Customer Service Center at 860.887.2555.