National Grid is hosting a series of customer assistance events throughout February, including one in Fall River, to help residents manage high energy bills during the cold winter months.
The utility company is offering 31 in-person events to provide guidance on bill assistance and energy-saving programs, according to a community announcement. The events aim to support customers facing increased energy costs due to colder-than-normal weather across Massachusetts.
Fall River’s event will take place 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Feb. 17 at Citizens for Citizens, 264 Griffin St.
«We understand the challenge residents are facing from increasing costs, which are only worsened by the extreme cold across our region,» said Bill Malee, chief customer officer at National Grid. «These events will help provide critical relief to our customers by connecting them to support programs and tools, while also providing insights into their home energy use, information that can help customers conserve energy and reduce their bills.»
Attendees will receive personalized assistance from National Grid customer service specialists, who can provide information on various bill assistance and energy solutions. This includes enrolling in the Payment Assistance Bundle, signing up for budget billing, registering for the Energy Discount Rate for qualifying customers, and scheduling a home energy assessment.
The events are being hosted at accessible locations such as city halls and senior centers to ensure easy access for senior citizens and other customers, according to the announcement. For full list of locations, visit https://www.nationalgridus.com/customer-assistance-events.
In addition to the in-person events, National Grid is also hosting two virtual bill assistance webinars this month. The webinars will provide an overview of bill management solutions and options for financial assistance.
National Grid also offers various programs and services to help customers save energy, manage their bills and access financial assistance. One of these programs is the Payment Assistance Bundle, which combines three solutions to help manage energy costs and pay down past due amounts over a 12-month period. To enroll, visit ngrid.com/hereforyou, an in-person event or call 800-233-5325.
The bundle includes the following:
Deferred payment agreement: Spread out past-due balance into future monthly payments.
Automatic monthly payments: Avoid missed due dates by automatically deducting payments from your bank account each month.
Budget plan: Break down annual energy costs into balanced monthly payments, making it easier to budget and plan expenses. Budget billing allows customers to spread their usual payment over 12 balanced monthly payments to help offset the traditionally high winter heating and summer air conditioning bills. This makes it easier to anticipate monthly energy costs and plan household budgets.
Income-eligible customers may qualify for a discounted rate on energy service. To be eligible, applicants must be a National Grid customer and already enrolled in an eligible benefit program or the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. Visit the Discount Rate application to determine eligibility and apply.
National Grid recently introduced a new Residential Heat Pump Rate to help electric customers save during the winter heating season. Qualified customers who use heat pumps for home heating will receive a reduced delivery rate on electricity from November through April, lowering monthly costs. Customers who think they qualify but did not receive an enrollment confirmation should visit ngrid.com/heatpumprate to fill out the enrollment form to apply and ensure they receive the discount.