Here With You:
REINFORCING THE CUSTOMER CONNECTION Never has OUC’s commitment to our customers been more evident than during the unique challenges Central Florida – and the world – faced in 2020. For the first time in nearly a century of service, we mobilized our customer care team to work from home, ensuring no one went without the guidance, assistance and expertise needed to weather these unprecedented times.
R E L IA B L E IN A GLO B A L H E A LT H CRIS IS Reliability took on new meaning in a year that brought trials no one could have imagined. As Central Florida grappled with the public health, safety, economic and logistical problems of COVID-19, OUC was hard at work finding solutions for our community. In April 2020, the OUC Board of Commissioners approved a $12.1 million relief package designed to assist customers impacted by the pandemic. Our initiative’s immediate and longerterm strategies included allocating $7.5 million to temporarily lower residential
and commercial electric bills in May 2020, as well as a $2.6 million grant to Project CARE, the utility’s bill-payment assistance program – a partnership with Heart of Florida United Way who serves as the administrator – for qualified residential customers. OUC also set aside $1.5 million in utility billpayment assistance for qualified small businesses and $500,000 for new customers of OUC Power Pass, a prepay service. Keeping our community connected – in good or challenging times – is a top priority at OUC. To further assist those in need, OUC suspended electric and water disconnections for nonpayment and waived late payment fees for several months. For customers who continued to struggle
IMPACT T HRO UGH O UC CUSTO ME R PRO G RAMS APRIL–DECEMBER 2020
DELAYED
14,482
12 “It has allowed me to keep my air and utilities on until I can try to catch up. What a blessing.” — Dawn Ladkins, St. Cloud, on receiving $500 in bill-payment assistance from Project CARE
39,909
CUSTOMERS RECEIVED FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
CUSTOMERS RECEIVED DELAYED/ DEFERRED BALANCES
$7.5 MILLION
$1.5 MILLION
PROVIDED TO LOWER ELECTRIC FUEL RATES FOR MAY BILLS BY 39% COMBINED FOR RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS
FOR UTILITY BILL PAYMENT ASSISTANCE TO QUALIFIED SMALL BUSINESSES
Additional customer relief was provided by waiving late fees and reducing fuel charges.
