In addition to the suspension of disconnections announced last week, Evergy will waive late fees and add payment-agreement options for residential and small business customers as the coronavirus continues to affect local communities, causing financial hardship for some.
Evergy announced Friday, March 13, its temporary suspension of nonpayment service disconnections for residential and small business customers. On Wednesday, March 18, the company took several additional steps to help its customers. Late fees will be waived, and residential and small business customers who had been disconnected prior to Friday’s announcement may reestablish service by paying one-twelfth of their account balance. These changes will be in place through at least May 1.
While service won’t be disconnected in the coming weeks, Evergy encourages customers to continue to make payments toward their energy use to avoid higher balances later. Evergy customer-service representatives can assist customers with payment arrangements and budget billing options. In addition, by calling 2-1-1, customers may learn about community resources for financial assistance.
Customers will continue to receive reminders, including collection notices, calls and texts even though they will not be disconnected. These notifications are important to remind customers of past-due balances; and, if eligible, customers need the notifications to receive energy assistance funds from community organizations.
To protect the health of Evergy’s employees and customers, Connect, which is Evergy’s walk-in customer service center in Kansas City, is closed through March 28. Customers may access their Evergy account online at evergy.com, receive assistance by calling Evergy customer-service centers or make payments at an authorized pay station.
Evergy call centers are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, and may be experiencing high call volumes. Much like grocery stores, to minimize the number of people gathered in its contact centers, the company isn’t bringing in additional staff, so customers’ patience is appreciated while customer-service representatives work through the anticipated high volume of customer calls. Evergy Missouri and Kansas Metro customers can reach customer service at (816) 471-5275 or toll-free at (888) 471-5275. Evergy Kansas Central customers can call (800) 383-1183.