When Brandon Presley was a kid growing up in Nettleton, he remembers days when he would come home from school to find the electricity shut off. There were times when his single mom just didn’t have the money to pay the bill.

“It’s something that can happen to working families,” Presley said. “I know that for a fact.”

As the Northern District public service commissioner, Presley never forgot those days.

In 2009, Presley pushed through a Public Service Commission rule that prohibits Mississippi utility providers from disconnecting service on any day when a freeze warning is in effect.

Since then, utility companies serving the Golden Triangle — including Columbus Light and Water, Starkville Utilities Department, 4-County Electric Power Association and Atmos Energy — all have policies that expand on the 2009 PSC rule.

“Our policy is pretty simple,” said Todd Gale, general manager at Columbus Light and Water. “We don’t cut off power during severe weather conditions. We don’t want to see any customers put in that situation.”

State and federal authorities suspended utility disconnections from March until June in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, cut-offs for nonpayment of bills have resumed. CLW, SUD and 4-County officials say about 1 percent (CLW, 4-County) to 2.7 percent (SUD) of its customers are disconnected each month.

The exception is Atmos.

“Right now and throughout the pandemic, we have suspended disconnections of our own volition,” said Robert Morgan, vice president for public affairs at Atmos, a company that supplies natural gas. “With all that’s going on with the way the pandemic has affected the economy, we felt it was just the right thing to do.”

While the other utility providers continue to issue disconnect notices and cut off service for nonpayment, their managers stress that customers should not wait until they receive notifications.

“The weather here can change pretty fast, so you don’t want to be caught in a position where service has been cut off, then the weather gets really cold,” SUD manager Terry Kemp said. “If a customer realizes they are in a pinch, we urge them to call us or come by the office. Our customer service people are ready to work with them to make sure they don’t get any further in the hole. We do have programs that offer help, including federal grants to cover utility bills.”

One of those programs is the federally-backed Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

“That program is administered through community agencies in every community,” Morgan said. “Utility providers have information on how to apply for the funds, but you can also call 2-1-1 to get that information.”

Jon Turner, spokesman for 4-County, said the co-op has its own internal assistance program.

“It’s a one-time program that covers the bill for a month,” Turner said. “It’s administered through the Columbus Salvation Army.”

Utility companies stress that even though service won’t be interrupted during extreme weather, customers are expected to pay the bills over time.

“We’ll work with customers to find a way they can bring their accounts into balance,” Kemp said. “That’s true when service is cut off, too. We’ll find a way to add those reconnect fees to their monthly bill so they don’t have to pay everything up front if they get into that situation.”

Gale said one of the biggest issues that affect some customers are busted pipes that often occur during freezes.

“You have someone who suddenly realizes they have a $700 or $800 bill and they can’t pay it,” he said. “What we urge customers to do is make sure their pipes are insulated and pay attention to things like if their toilet keeps running. They can call us and we’ll come and check things out and work with the customers to mitigate a bill that’s been affected by leaks.”

Morgan said Atmos customers looking for ways to manage energy usage can visit atmosenergy.com/ways-to-save/manage-energy-home for tips.

Presley said he has been pleased with how utility companies have responded during extreme weather.

“I can be pretty hard on utility companies, and rightfully so, I believe,” he said. “They basically have a monopoly to provide energy, so I think they have a great responsibility to their customers. But in these situations, the vast majority of utility companies are working very hard to take care of their customers. They’re doing a good job.”

Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].