A new Delmarva Power pilot program aims to help customers who may have fallen behind paying high winter energy bills.
The name of the program is the Arrearage Management Program or AMP.
“It was developed in collaboration with community organizations across Delaware, and is meant to help low-income residential customers reduce or eliminate past due balances,” said Delmarva Power spokesman Tim Stokes.
He says customers who enroll in AMP and make timely payments, in full, on their bills for 12 months can have past due balances forgiven - up to $6,000.
But Stokes notes customers must meet several qualifications to enroll.
“You must be a residential Delmarva Power customer - this includes both natural gas and electric customers, with a past due balance of $500 or more; earn at, or below, 60% of the Delaware State median income; and not have service disconnected for more than 30 days due to non-payment,” Stokes said.
Stokes says customers enrolled are switched to Budget Billing, one of Delmarva Power’s most successful and highly used payment plans.
He says Budget Billing helps customers avoid seasonal peaks in energy bills by dividing their payments evenly over the course of the entire year.
Stokes says Delmarva Powers offers a number of other resources and payment plans to help customers struggling to meet their energy needs, including LIHEAP - the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program.
