Following an agreement approved by the Illinois Commerce Commission last week to extend statewide benefits to Illinois customers due to COVID-19, Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas customers are now eligible for reconnection of their natural gas service at no cost.
Residential customers disconnected for non-payment before the COVID-19 public health emergency should contact Peoples Gas or North Shore Gas for reconnection by Aug. 25, 2020. Reconnections will only be offered at the same service address that was disconnected for nonpayment. Reconnection fees for disconnected customers will be waived for all qualified residential customers through Aug. 25, 2020. For customers who are LIHEAP qualified or who express financial hardship, reconnection fees will be waived through Dec. 25, 2020.
Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas also will extend the current suspension of disconnections and late fees put in place at the onset of the COVID-19 public health emergency. The suspension will last until July 26, 2020 — 30 days after Illinois enters Phase 4 of Governor J.B. Pritzker’s Restore Illinois plan on June 26, 2020. As the suspension is lifted, Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas will continue to help customers struggling with the financial impacts of the COVID-19 crisis through newly established support programs.
Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas announced the following additional benefits as part of the agreement to support customers in the coming months:
Extended deferred payment arrangements. Residential customers are eligible to receive an 18-month payment plan. Residential customers receiving Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) support or expressing hardship are eligible for an 18- to 24-month payment plan.
Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas also will continue to provide assistance to customers through existing programs:
Financial assistance: Financial assistance programs such as the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, the Peoples Gas Share the Warmth Program and the Payment Assistance Program are available to qualified customers. To enroll, Peoples Gas customers should contact CEDA directly at cedaorg.net or 800-571-2332. North Shore Gas customers should contact Community Action Partnership of Lake County (CAPOLC) at 847-249-4330.
Bill Payment Assistance Program: A new Payment Assistance Program will be announced soon.
Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas customers will soon receive additional information on the assistance programs and arrangements. For more information on the agreement or to find out if you are eligible for assistance, customers should visit https://accel.peoplesgasdelivery.com/ or https://accel.northshoregasdelivery.com/, or call 866-556-6001 for Peoples Gas or 866-556-6004 for North Shore Gas.
Peoples Gas, a subsidiary of WEC Energy Group (NYSE: WEC), is a regulated natural gas delivery company that serves more than 867,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in the city of Chicago. You can find more information about natural gas safety, energy efficiency and other energy-related topics at peoplesgasdelivery.com. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook @peoplegaschi.
