MGE announcement! March 18, the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin lifted the disconnection moratorium.

I hope this message finds you and your family well. It’s hard to believe that it’s been a year since the pandemic changed our lives. Thank you for all of your efforts supporting our community and families during the pandemic. And thank you for your continued partnership with Madison Gas and Electric (MGE); it’s greatly valued.

I’m contacting you to share some updates that may impact families who have fallen behind on their MGE bills and to ask for your help sharing information and resources with them.

As you may know, on March 18, the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin lifted the disconnection moratorium, which means utilities can start disconnecting customers due to nonpayment. MGE is not disconnecting residential customers at this time. We recognize the hardship many of our customers continue to experience, and we are offering customers who contact us personalized payment plans that will help them avoid late payment charges and disconnection. Without a payment plan in place, customers with past-due balances will be subject to late payment charges starting April 1 and could face disconnection in the future. We are asking for your help to let customers know we have options for them.

How can you help?

Whether it’s through your daily interactions with community members, social media or other means, sharing the following resources will go a long way in ensuring access to support for customers who need it:

·       For more information regarding personalized payment arrangements for outstanding balances, visit MGE online. Information is available in three languages: English, Spanish and Hmong. Residential customers can call us weekdays at (608) 252-7144 (English), (608) 252-7120 (Spanish) or (608) 252-7033 (Hmong) between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. to set up their personalized payment arrangement.

·       Residential customers may be eligible for additional financial support from our partner, Energy Services, Inc. (ESI). Customers can visit http://esiwi.com/ to verify their eligibility, schedule an appointment to speak with an ESI representative and apply for funds online. They also can call ESI at (800) 506-5596.

·       Please also consider sharing information from MGE with your social media followers—it’s available in English, Hmong and Spanish. We also have a list of resources available at mge.com/resources.

We are here to help, too.

We are ready, willing and able to make sure that families are able to connect with resources for support in a way that makes sense for them. I would be happy to discuss potential options with you. Here are some ways we work with community partners to reach customers:

·       Providing culturally and linguistically relevant MGE materials for distribution.

·       Coordinating Facebook Live videos to spread awareness.

·       Conducting virtual workshops with small groups of customers where we share relevant information and resources.

Thank you for your time and consideration.