Utility deferral program ends; customers have a year to repay

EDMONTON The Alberta government’s utility deferral program, launched to allow people to postpone their bills amid the COVID -19 pandemic, ends Thursday.

The government says more than 350,000 customers, or approximately 13 per cent of the natural gas and electricity consumer base, deferred utility payments through the program.

Announced in March and formalized through legislation in May, the program allowed Albertans to put off paying their utility bills without being charged late fees or having their services cut off as long as they paid the bills off in instalments over the next year. Customers now have until June 18, 2021, to repay.

Corry Poole, vice-president of customer experience with Enmax, said the company doesn’t know how many customers used the deferral program since Albertans didn’t have to formally opt in.

Those who owe money began getting calls this week to remind them that the program was ending, she said.

Even though the company is not extending deferral options beyond what the government mandated, Poole said Enmax is willing to work with customers who might still be struggling during the pandemic.

“What we would encourage is what we would do typically for any customer, even outside of a pandemic, that if they’re struggling to make payment or to pay their bills is to reach out to us directly at our customer service centre and we would work with them directly based on their personal circumstances,” she said. “We also have agencies that we can refer customers to for payment support, as well.”

Epcor spokesperson Kelly Struski says the company has also reached out to customers who have not paid to make arrangements.

“We encourage any customers who have deferred their bills but haven’t made payment arrangements to contact us at 310-4300,” said Struski in a written statement. “Customers who opt not to contact Epcor will automatically see their outstanding balance divided into 10 equal monthly instalments leading up to June 18, 2021.”

Representatives from Altagas didn’t reply to an interview request.

The legislation applied to electricity consumers who consume less than 250,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year and natural gas consumers who consume less than 2,500 gigajoules per year.