LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — After a few months of disconnects for Summit Utilities Arkansas services being put on pause, the company announced that they will resume normal collections activities, including charging late fees and disconnecting service for nonpayment on September 15, 2023.
In Fall 2022, Summit made the decision to temporarily suspend the charge of late fees and disconnections for nonpayment as the company worked through its new billing system and customer service while it transitioned from CenterPoint to Summit Utilities.
On Thursday, July 27, the Arkansas Public Service Commission (APSC) ordered Summit Utilities to resume their normal collections activities.
Earlier in the month, the APSC stated that Summit had largely resolved many of the issues raised by the Arkansas Attorney General’s Office and that they did not violate any of the APSC rules.
“At Summit, we want to do everything we can to help our customers who are having trouble paying their bills. We encourage those with outstanding balances to contact our customer service representatives as soon as possible to make payment arrangements, so we do not have to disconnect their service,” said Fred Kirkwood, Chief Customer Officer for Summit. “We have hired more than 75 customer service representatives since last year, and they are available to help customers who may have difficulty paying their bills understand the payment options available to them.”
Summit Utilities is offering up to an 18-month repayment plan for eligible customers that have balances that are past due, Customers who are eligible can sign up for the plan before the end of the business day on the last day to pay that is printed on the disconnection notice.
Customers in need of payment assistance options or information about reconnection can contact customer service at 800-992-7552 from the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Monday-Friday or visit the customer resource page by clicking here.