Item 8: Utility Bill Relief and Standard Operations — original pdf

Backup

Item 8 City of Austin Utilities Commission Briefing on Relief Funding and Standard Operations Kerry Overton Deputy General Manager, Chief Customer Officer Austin Energy 8/19/2021 © 2018 Austin Energy Austin Energy 2020 Pandemic Response March/April 2020 Disconnections and Late Fees Suspended Council Approved Utility Bill Relief Funding May 2020 – June 2021 AustinBillHelp.com launched Multi-channel communication and outreach Engaged with community partners and expanded Plus 1 Expanded branch operations and pay channels Current State AustinBillHelp.com still available Standard Collection Practices Resumed 2 Utility Bill Relief Funding: COVID-19 As part of COA Utilities’ COVID-19 response, $20M was added to the Plus 1 fund Plus 1 Funding & Payments (FY2019-2021) $1,692,390 $1,186,303 4,293 $795,316 3,526 2,579 2,811 $600,000 $1,315,482 $1,400,000 $1,800,000 $1,600,000 $1,200,000 $1,000,000 $800,000 $400,000 $200,000 $- # Payments $ Funding 6,000 5,500 5,000 4,500 4,000 3,500 3,000 2,500 2,000 1,500 1,000 500 - COVID-19 Bill Journey from A/R to Utility Expense Bill Generates with a Due Date ~ 75% of customers are paying their bill on time or near the due date (typically 90%) Some payments are not made on time ~ 25% of customers are past due and receiving either a Late Payment Notice or a Service Disconnection Notice (typically less than 10%) Some payments are spread out over time ~1% of customers are calling to set up payment arrangements or requesting extensions (typically 1-2%) Unpaid Customer Debt accrues Bad Debt Expense Customers who do not contact the utility for payment options receive escalating notifications up to Disconnect for Non-Pay. Typically, less than 1% of customers reach this status. If customers do not pay to restore services, balances due are sent to collection agency. Unpaid debt eventually becomes Inactive and is difficult to collect. Uncollected debt is then calculated into Bad Debt Expense, representing a loss of revenue to the utility.  $60,000,000 $50,000,000 $40,000,000 $30,000,000 $20,000,000 $10,000,000 $- Historical monthly active A/R dollars for all utilities Total active A/R > 30 Days $49,052,568 $47,135,217 $26,587,448 $17,485,201 t c O v o N c e D n a J b e F r a M r p A y a M n u J l u J g u A p e S t c O v o N c e D n a J b e F r a M r p A y a M n u J l u J g u A p e S t c O v o N c e D n a J b e F r a M r p A y a M n u J FY19 FY20 FY21 Fiscal Year 2019 offers a view into a typical year for aged receivables management. At the onset of the pandemic in 2020, we began to experience a consistent upward trend. • March 13, 2020: Moratorium on soft services began in response to COVID-19 Target Range Lowest A/R Peak A/R Prior Year A/R Current A/R 5 Debt Comparison June 2019 -Total Past Due Debt - $17.5M • Residential - $15.3M • Commercial - $2.2M June 2021 -Total Past Due Debt - $47.1M • Residential - $37.3M • Commercial - $9.8M -Average Balance Past Due - $313 -Average Balance Past Due - $672 • Residential - $284 • Commercial - $1,026 • Residential - $637 • Commercial - $2,143 6 Resuming Standard Collection Operations May/June 2021 Targeted door hanger campaign to encourage customer contact from those most at risk. June 2021 Service disconnection notices resumed and email sent to all customers that had past due balances. July 2021 News release highlighted key dates to resume all standard operations. July 16, 2021 Resumed standard collections activity including disconnection for customers who had not made arrangements. 2021 Utility Bill Relief funds are still available and there is still time for customers to contact us or a community partner for assistance options. Engaging City of Austin Utility Customers Through the end of 2021, we will continue: • Outreach: encourage customer contact through a variety of mediums • Utility Bill Relief: provide utility bill assistance through AustinBillHelp.com and local partnerships arrangement • Flexible Payment Arrangements: offer payment arrangements with up to 36 months repayment options (24 months for commercial) • Waivers: late fees will be waived for those who receive relief funding or enter into a payment 8 Questions?