LANSING, Mich. — The Lansing Board of Water and Light said they have seen an increase in past due balances since the start of the pandemic. The total is now around $7 million.
"Our house got red tagged. And it's been like this for almost four months now. And we're trying to get back on our feet," said Lansing resident Kathy Place, one of many people who are behind on their BWL bills.
BWL's uncollected debt was about $1 million but when the pandemic hit, that number skyrocketed to $11 million.
"As soon as the pandemic hit, that started going up. Things were locked down. People got laid off from their jobs. Restaurants closed. You couldn't leave your house to make a living to pay your bills," said BWL General Manager Dick Peffley.
Through resource fairs and working with customers, Peffley said, they were able to lower the overall debt to $7 million.
"We want to get down to the typical 1 million mark, which is industry standard for a company our size," he said. "If you know, you can't meet your monthly bill, call us. Communications will eliminate 90 percent of the problem. Because if you can make some kind of partial payment, we want to work with you on it."
On Wednesday, BWL hosted its third resource fair which is designed to help community members who need housing assistance, help with rent and utility bills.
BWL suspended shut offs during the pandemic, but they will resume April 15. If you are struggling, BWL encourages you to contact them so you can avoid this.
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