Not everyone pays their bills on time 鈥� and one local utility has a lot of customers who haven鈥檛 paid their bills on time.
WSSC Water is hoping those who can afford to pay off their balances, but just choose not to, can be goaded into it.
Throughout the entire month of June, WSSC Water is offering amnesty through its program. The last day to apply is June 30.
鈥淓ligible customers can receive a 10% bill credit if they pay in full, and 100% of late payment charges and turn-on fees waived,鈥� said WSSC Water spokeswoman Lyn Riggins.
鈥淐ustomers who want to pay 50% of their delinquent account will receive a 5% bill credit, and when they finish a six-month payment plan, 100% of the late payment charges will be waived as well as turn-on fees waived.鈥�
Currently, about 83,000 accounts are past due, and collectively they owe about $53 million.
鈥淲e have 1.9 million customers in Montgomery and Prince George鈥檚 counties, and every day we need to provide water and wastewater services to those customers. It becomes challenging when you have $53 million in outstanding revenue,鈥� said Riggins. 鈥淪ome of that has been outstanding for years.鈥�
WSSC Water has also paused all residential water shutoffs in June.
But if money is really tight, and even paying off half of what鈥檚 owed is too much right now, other options still exist.
鈥淲e can also work with you on financial assistance programs. There are probably a lot more than the average person is aware of,鈥� said Riggins.
