Authority of the Borough of Charleroi: Water shutoff moratorium to end Dec. 1

By TAYLOR BROWN

tbrown@yourmvi.com

The Authority of the Borough of Charleroi will lift a moratorium on the termination of water services in December.

During a business meeting Tuesday, the ABC Board of Directors agreed to a phased lifting of the moratorium beginning Dec. 1 — three weeks after the state Public Utilities Commission issued an order ending its moratorium on utility shutoffs.

ABC implemented the moratorium in March in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As we stated at the beginning of the pandemic, the health, safety, and welfare of our customers is always our number one priority,” Authority General Manager Chuck Cardinale said. “However, as recently recognized by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, moving from an absolute moratorium to a less restrictive regulation allows the Authority to continue to recognize the ongoing dangers of the pandemic while also putting into place solutions for our customers to pay down their delinquent bills.”

Under a resolution passed by the board Tuesday, customers who have acquired delinquent invoices and balances during 2020 can apply for a 10-month payment plan specifically designed to alleviate issues faced customers and the Authority during the pandemic.

According to the resolution, customers with past due balances who opt into the payment plan will be required to pay a minimum of $50 in addition to their regular monthly invoice.

Customers who have delinquent balances of over $500 will be required to pay a minimum of 10% of the delinquent balance during the payment plan.

After 10 months, if a customer still has a past due balance remaining, that balance will become due with the customer’s next bill.

Board Chairman Walter Hopkins said the Authority knows some customers have struggled during the past several months.

“The Authority knows that many of our customers have had economic and financial troubles during these unprecedented times,” Hopkins said. “At the same time, the Authority has now accrued over $485,000 in past due balances and we must be able to recoup the majority of those balances without having a negative financial impact on the entire customer base.”

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