KUA Expands Assistance Programs to Support Customers During Coronavirus Pandemic

Kissimmee Utility Authority continues to monitor the impacts of COVID-19 (coronavirus) across its Osceola County service area. The utility is committed to performing its critical role of delivering safe and reliable energy to its customers during this critical time.

In its continuing response to the pandemic, KUA is supporting customers with the following actions:

• Effective today, KUA has extended its moratorium on service disconnections for non-payment. On March 13, the utility announced a suspension of disconnections until March 31, but indicated it would reevaluate the policy and timeframe as the situation developed. The suspension now remains in effect until further notice.
• KUA has implemented flexible payment plans and is offering other financial resources that could be beneficial. Customers having trouble paying their utility bill should call the utility at 407-933-9800 or live chat at kua.com to work out a payment plan.
• At today’s meeting of the KUA board of directors, the board voted to expand the dollar-for-dollar match on all donations made to its Good Neighbor Utility Assistance Fund. Now, every dollar donated to the fund through June 30, 2020 will be matched 2-to-1 by the utility, meaning $3 will go to help those most in need. The Good Neighbor Fund provides emergency utility bill payment assistance to individuals and families in Kissimmee facing a temporary financial crisis. The fund is administered by the Osceola Council on Aging.
• The board also approved a donation of $50,000 from unused community sponsorship dollars to the Good Neighbor Utility Assistance Fund.
• KUA now offers virtual energy efficiency audits for residential customers. All in-person audits were suspended in March, due to the pandemic. Call or email kuagreenteam@kua.com to schedule.
• KUA has launched a mobile-friendly account management portal, my.kua.com. The portal gives customers the ability to complete some of the most common functions associated with their accounts, from viewing and paying bills and reviewing past consumption to setting up high usage alert notifications to help them stay within budget. Customers can also start, stop and transfer electric service, view an outage map, and opt-in to report an outage via text message (the fastest way to report an outage to KUA).
• With more people remaining at home for extended periods of time, households may see an increase in energy use. KUA has provided some energy-saving tips and resources to help customers conserve energy at https://bit.ly/348P364.
• Customers are advised to be aware of scammers taking advantage of the current situation with calls and emails threatening to shut off power if a payment is not made. Anyone who has received such a call should report it immediately to KUA.

KUA remains committed to doing what it can to help its customers, employees, and the community during this unprecedented health crisis.

Founded in 1901, KUA is Florida's sixth largest community-owned utility powering 80,000 customers in Osceola County, Fla. For more information, visit https://kua.com.