After receiving approval from the BC Utilities Commission, FortisBC has announced a COVID-19 Customer Recovery Fund through which the company can extend bill deferrals to residential and small business customers suffering financial hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Residential customers who sign up for the program will automatically have their bill payments deferred from April 1st to June 30th.
An interest-free repayment schedule will be set up and payments can be spread over a full year after June 30th 2020 to lessen the monthly impact.
Small businesses that have been forced to close will receive bill credits to offset charges to their account. Those who have not closed but are facing a decrease in revenue can apply for the same 90-day deferral that residential customers are offered.
See also: Residents, businesses who lost income due to COVID-19 will not have to pay BC Hydro bills
“The actions taken by FortisBC will help support people who are struggling to pay their energy bills and make ends meet during this challenging time,” said Bruce Ralston, Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources.
“These measures will also provide urgently-needed relief to small businesses, such as restaurants and retail shops that have been forced to close during COVID-19.”
This program is available to natural gas, propane and electric customers, and is announced on top of the existing suspension of late fees and stopping service disconnections for any financial reason during the pandemic.
To be eligible, residential customers must acknowledge loss of employment, livelihood, or being forced to take a voluntary leave due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Small businesses must acknowledge that they have had income loss or were forced to close due to the COVID-19 outbreak, including the date of the business closure.
Anyone using the recovery fund must agree to a plan to pay back the deferred balance.
Customers can apply for the program at any time, and FortisBC may extend either the deferral period or amount of time in which customers must pay back the amount, as needed.
Those who wish to apply can do so by filling out this online form or calling FortisBC at 1-888-292-4104 (natural gas) and 1-888-292-4105 (electricity).
