For almost a year now, El Paso Electric has not been turning off customer's electricity because of non-payment. Back in March of 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic began throwing people out of work, the utility said that they would suspend service disconnection for the time being. Fast forward to a couple of days ago when El Paso Electric announced that they would be resuming their regular "billing, payment and collection practices."

That means that in the next few weeks, unless you make other arrangements, your electric service could be disconnected if you don't pay your bill. El Paso Electric says that beginning on January 18, commercial customers will be getting notices about unpaid bills and could risk service disconnection if they aren't paid. Beginning on February 1, residential customers will be getting their notices of unpaid bills and possible service disconnection.

EPE says that for the past several months the utility has been trying to let customers who are behind in their bills the opportunity to take advantage of payment plans as well as letting them know about programs that are out there that can help people who can't pay their bills.

The best thing to do is call El Paso Electric and work out a payment plan or get information on a program that might be able to help you with your past due bill. You will have to pay any unpaid balance so getting on a payment plan that you can handle is the best way to not get your electricity cut off. Years ago I got on EPE's Budget Billing Plan that averages your electicity usage and spreads it out over the year so you aren't hit with a huge bill one month that you might not be able to pay. It's a really good way to budget for what your bill will be each month. You can do that by clicking on this link.

If you have an outstanding balance, EPE will contact you via mail or by going to your house. EPE employees will never demand payment nor accept a payment from you. You will also never get a call that threatens to shut off your electricity if payment isn’t made immediately. If you want to know if you are really talking with an EPE employee, you can call (800) 592-1634.

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