TPCG Higher-than-normal Utility Bills Explained

Edward ‘Ed’ Lawson is the Customer Service Manager of the Financial Department with Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government. His job? He’s responsible for utility bills and collections for the Parish which is getting a lot of calls since customers have questions about higher than normal bills.

“My team is pretty busy, especially following the August 29th event,” Lawson said, ”This emergency put a spin on things unlike we’ve ever experienced them, I’d like to say in our lifetime because I think the last storm this bad was in the ’60s.” He said they have had other storms, but nothing that resulted in the decisions they had to make in terms of utility billings.

When Ida left South Louisiana, essential personnel was dispatched to return immediately. Essential employees are Tier-1 employees that may be in public safety, public works, utilities, as well as finance because of the role they play. While they were being dispatched, Lawson said the non-essential employees not only were dealing with their homes, but they were waiting for the government to get in the position for employees to get to work to resume normal duties. Lawson’s team only consists of two essential workers, and the others weren’t able to return until September 20th and 27th respectively, and the decision to resume meter readings for accurate and actual utility billings was made. He said they had five meter readers, but only three were able to come back. The other two were displaced and had to resign, this not only was heartbreaking for the individuals, but this also slowed the process of starting to get readings.

Lawson said they knew to have estimated customer bills during a time-frame we knew they were without power from the 29 of August to somewhere on average of the 18th and 20th of September would have been an injustice to their customers and their employees alike. Not only would it not have been accurate for customers, but the employees would have had to work twice as hard in terms of having to go back and forth, re-reading, making adjustments on customer bills, frustrating the general public who are already frustrated with being without power for the length of time they were. He said some people understood, but some people couldn’t understand why it took so long for restoration and simply don’t understand the process. 

Lawson said if they were able to be on time with readings, customers may have gotten a 60-day bill, or a 62-day bill, but instead, they got a 72-day bill which meant there were additional days added because of the delay in the meter readings. The utility department has a process involved with their ranges, so all of the accounts that were out of range than the normal meant that they were having to double-check and re-read the majority on their own on top of customers calling for a re-read because they don’t accept what they received. 

He said the difficult part about the situation is the last good reading that most customers were billed for in the month of August before the storm was for their usage from June to July, which means customers are being billed for what they have already used. For example, customers who got bills in August around the 23 or 26, were for what they consumed for June and July. If they would have been present in September and billed accordingly, they would’ve billed those customers for July to August, “But because we weren’t present in September until the 27th,” he said, ”with 5 billing cycles that enlist well over 21,000 plus utility customers, there was no possible way we could have pulled together reading and billing for those customers according to those cycles and bill dates.”

Unfortunately, these summer months that are being read are the highest bills of the year which is a point the department tries to explain to customers. He said customers have also been upset because of the delay that it took to get accurate meter readings, but they have been doing everything possible to get through this unprecedented time. He said they have many great customers that understood the process and expected something like that because they knew they didn’t get a bill sent to them in September. On the other hand, some don’t understand so easily, but “It’s understandable, it’s frustrating, emotions are high, but they try to be as accountable to the customers as they possibly can by providing them with an actual meter reading,” he said.

He said there are main questions many are asking was out of power for so many days, why do I have this high bill? Shouldn’t I be credited for those days of inconvenience? The simplified answer is the meter doesn’t register unless it has power, so without power, they can’t charge anything. So now where can customers go for help?

The most important thing he said is trying to help the general public understand that Terrebonne Parish Government has nothing to gain by being dishonest to them. “Parish Gordon Dove’s office here is doing the very best they can to try to assist as many people and giving the staff the flexibility to do whatever they can to extend services to people to help them along the way,” he said. He was able to consult his director of finance as well as the Parish President to make sure they could do everything they possibly can to help people through this hard time. These services include no penalty charges for anyone paying late and no delinquent disconnect for anyone who isn’t paying their bills. They are hoping that between the time of the storm and the return to work in September, and through the remainder of this year, that customers can catch back up. “This is a one-time thing that has happened,” he said, “next month their bills will be routine.”

If customers can’t afford the high bill, he said they are more than glad to work with them to make the process of catching up as smooth as possible. Customers can pay what they can, carry it over until they see their way of catching up. Even if they can’t catch up by January of 2022 and they need more time,  Lawson said it’s a matter of calling TPG customer service and speaking to anyone in the department. “I’m right there answering those calls with my staff,” Lawson said, “because I really feel for them. You won’t believe the hostility that they experience.” He said it’s an irregular and indifferent time that nobody planned for, but it happened, and it can happen at any point in time. 

Lawson also shared that the Housing and Human Services Department has been granted funds that will be able to assist as many people through this hardship as possible. Whether they’re economically disadvantaged, or if they qualify based on their income and household members, they can contact the department for various needs such as utility assistance, rental or mortgage assistance, and commodities. They are located at 4800 Hwy. 311 in Houma and are taking calls and appointments for anyone needing assistance to determine eligibility. Residents must dial the area code, at (985) 219-2909. If you can’t get through, there are other lines to call, which are (985) 219-2910 and (985) 219-2911. He also noted the Catholic Social Services, Council on Aging, and the Salvation Army groups have been great in assisting those who need.

Lawson said he understands and sympathizes with every one of his customers that’s been through this hard time. He understands because just as the customers are rebuilding from Hurricane Ida, he is too. In fact, he and his wife spent their 36th wedding anniversary in a shelter. Lawson suffered damage to his home, but he is thankful they still have a standing structure where they were able to get a new roof, gut the house, and are moving forward with rebuilding their home, “I am so sorry that this has happened to so many people and I really wish our customer base could understand.”