Have you ever been in a situation when you didn’t know how you were going to pay all your monthly bills because of some unforeseen expense that hit you out of the blue? Maybe it was a medical bill that your insurance company wouldn’t cover or you were recently laid off due to company cutbacks. This is where having a public utility can be a real lifesaver.

Princeton Electric Plant Board has always believed that offering extensions on due dates was an essential service to offer all residential customers. It is our desire to see that everyone in the community has electrical service since it plays such an important role in all our lives. Striking a balance between this desire and fiscal responsibility to all customers is a difficult task. With this thought in mind, the Board of Directors acted on a revision to the Credit Policy during its January meeting. Beginning February 1, 2002 customers will be granted no more than two due date extensions a year.

Previously, the policy did not stipulate the number of payment arrangements a customer could have and a small number of customers have repeatedly requested extensions. Over the past year, many such requests have been addressed by our staff resulting in many man-hours and even more paperwork. Below is a copy of the entire policy as approved by the Board of Directors.

The following policy has been established for rules, regulations, and guidelines governing partial payments and postponements of unpaid accounts receivable.

Princeton Electric Plant Board recognizes some customers may have financial difficulty from time to time and may not possess the funds to pay their account when it is due.

Thus the company adopts the following Credit Policy: Princeton EPB shall allow customers special credit arrangements if they are determined, by a credit counselor, or customer service representative to be a genuine hardship case.

Any/all special arrangement for partial payments or postponements of accounts shall be made in person at the Princeton Electric Plant Board’s main office.

Special arrangement shall be completed prior to printing the disconnect order.

Each customer is allowed a maximum of two extensions on their billing due date each year.

If an extension is granted, the entire account balance must be paid within 30 days of the bill date.

Customers must live at an address for at least six (6) months before an extension can be requested.

Fixed income recipients, i.e. Social Security and/or disability benefits received monthly will be expected to pay the full account by the 15th day of each month. (No partial payments or arrangement shall be accepted on these accounts.)

Customers who present a certificate, signed by a physician, registered nurse, or public health officer stating that electricity is necessary to insure the customer’s well being, or those customers with someone at their address on a life support system, shall be granted 30 additional days to make arrangement to pay their account.

Customers presenting a "Certificate of Need" that has been approved with payment guaranteed by a recognized agency, shall be given an extension to allow the agency reasonable time to pay the authorized account. The "Certificate of Need" will not be counted as one of the payment extensions for the year.

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