Residential electricity disconnect moratorium ends Aug. 29

Past-Due A&N Members Urged to Contact Cooperative

Governor Ralph Northam ended Virginia’s COVID-19 State of Emergency on June 30. As a result, the residential utility disconnection moratorium will end on August 29.

To help members during the COVID-19 pandemic, A&N Electric Cooperative temporarily suspended service disconnections due to nonpayment of bills. The state later imposed a disconnect moratorium for the duration of the state of emergency.

Electric co-ops are built by, and belong to, the communities they serve. That community focus continues to drive the co-op as it responds to COVID-19 challenges and local concerns.

Co-op staff is ready to work with any members who are carrying a past-due electric service balance due to COVID-19. Since the beginning of the pandemic, A&N Electric Cooperative has regularly reached out to past-due members in the hopes of establishing payment arrangements.

“While the cooperative has made extraordinary efforts to ease the burden placed on our members, we’ve continued to stress that the waiver of disconnects was not a forgiveness of payment for electric service received,” said Lori Shreaves, director of member services. “Everyone who receives electric service is still responsible to pay for the electricity they use, in fairness to all of our cooperative members.”

Not-for-profit electric co-ops like A&N have no shareholders and routinely return excess revenues to their members. Because of this structure and the desire to keep energy costs as low as possible, some co-ops have more limited reserve margins to sustain higher rates of nonpayment.

In June 2020 and 2021 the A&N Electric Cooperative Board of Directors voted to return capital credits earlier to members to help when it was needed most. Members Helping Members continues to assist with electric service bills for members who qualify. Any member who would like to assist with this program can do so by contacting one of our member service representatives or by logging onto anec.com.

Please contact the cooperative now to make payment arrangements if you are behind on your electric bill to avoid being disconnected. If you are 30 days or more past-due, you are being offered a COVID-19 Relief Repayment Plan at this time.