PSEG Long Island announced that shutoffs would resume as of July 12 for nonpayment, not only on Long Island but across New York State.
According to a Newsday report, prices per kilowatt-hour increased 20% year-over-year in March 2022. The paper also reported that “residential customers in PSEG’s service territory owed $181.5 million in bills 30 days or more past due” in March 2022. That is compared to $95.2 million in March, 2020.
“The number of residential customers behind on their bills was 187,380, PSEG said,” Newsday reported.
According to one source, the average monthly electricity bill on Long Island is $162 per month.
In March 2020, PSEG Long Island suspended all service shutoffs for nonpayment. That continued throughout the New York COVID-19 State of Emergency, which ended last summer. After the state of emergency ended, PSEG Long Island extended additional shutoff protections through the end of 2021.
To help with customers behind on their bills as service shutoffs resume, PSEG Long Island announced programs to help.
“Continuing more than two years of outreach efforts, PSEG Long Island stands ready to work with customers with outstanding balances to avoid interruptions to their service,” the utility said in a statement.
PSEG Long Island proposed some suggestions on how customers can avoid a shutoff:
A deferred payment agreement, allowing qualified customers to pay down their outstanding account balance by as little as $10 a month in addition to the current bill, protects customers from shutoffs.
Low- and moderate-income customers who receive certain externally administered financial assistance benefits and enroll in PSEG Long Island’s Household Assistance Program will be protected from shutoffs until Sept. 1.
New York State Electric and Gas Bill Relief Program - Customers enrolled in PSEG Long Island’s Household Assistance Program will automatically receive a credit toward their unpaid balance through May 1, 2022, via this new, state-run program. Currently, more than 14,000 PSEG Long Island customers will receive this credit. Customers who meet the eligibility requirements and have not yet enrolled in the Household Assistance Program have until Dec. 31 to enroll and receive this bill credit.
Customers who have received a payment on their PSEG Long Island account through the New York State-administered Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) also qualify for the New York State Electric and Gas Bill Relief Program. As ERAP payments continue to be received, the New York State Electric and Gas Bill Relief Program will remain open through Dec. 31.
“It’s not too late. We know how hard it has been to manage household bills when your income has been affected,” said Rick Walden, vice president of Customer Services, PSEG Long Island. “We want to work with our customers, make sure they know about assistance programs, and help them set up individualized payment agreements that avert a shutoff, letting them pay what they can now to prevent them from getting too far behind.”
The utility stressed that shutoff of service for nonpayment is a last resort that only occurs after PSEG Long Island makes multiple efforts to contact and help the customer.
Customers with unpaid account balances can call PSEG Long Island at 1-800-490-0025 to determine if they are eligible for these or other financial assistance programs, and to develop individualized payment agreements. For more information on PSEG Long Island financial assistance programs, click here.