Basseterre, St. Kitts, May 03, 2017 (SKNIS): While the St. Kitts Electricity Company Limited (SKELEC) has made it easy for customers to pay their bills online, thus making it convenient, it has also devised a payment plan where persons who are in arrears can visit the department and apply for what is called a deferred payment arrangement (DPA).
“One of the things that we are most excited about at SKELEC to share with our customers is our deferred payment arrangement, and why we are so excited to share our deferred payment arrangement is that is allows our customers to remain connected, because once you are in arrears of 90 days you are subject to disconnection without any notice,” said Pearl Williams, Acting General Manager at SKELEC, while appearing on “Working for You” on Wednesday, May 03.
The acting general manager explained the DPA process and encouraged customers to use it, as it will prove beneficial to paying one’s bill incrementally.
“A customer who is in arrears 90 days plus can come into the office, we would expect 20 percent deposit on your arrears and then the balance of the arrears we will divide it up in installments. We do a maximum of 36 months,” she said. “Every month you receive your bill, there will be a section on the bill which will be marked installments and every month you will see the exact amount coming out as installments for 36 months if you are given 36 months to pay. But during that time, you will not see any arrears on your bill once you pay.”
She added that once customers are given the deferred payment arrangement they are expected to come into the office and pay. She appealed to customers to contact the department if they are unable to make a payment under the plan. Informing the department of one’s inability to pay for a particular period will avoid him/her from going back into arrears, which can eventually result in disconnection. The acting general manager said that those failing to pay their arrears and who are disconnected will have to pay the full arrears plus reconnection fee.
Mrs. Williams said that the DPA is only available to residential customers but commercial customers who may be in arrears can visit the department to work out a payment plan. She said that it will not be the same arrangement as that of residential customers.
