COVID-19 has affected everybody in some way. Many people were laid off from their jobs due to shut-downs. Because so many have been impacted financially, South River EMC understands that paying past-due balances is weighing heavily on people’s minds. These balances accrued March through July, during the moratorium of disconnections for non-payment.
We have taken steps to make repayment easier. To provide some relief, the South River EMC Board of Directors chose to retire capital credits in July rather than October/November. What does this mean? It means that most members had a refund on their electric account at a time that it really helps.
In July, we refunded approximately $4.06 million to over 65,500 active and inactive members. This is your refund for revenue earned in parts of 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2019! Capital credit allocations are made each year, based on the previous year’s margins. Check your bill or your online account for the exact amount of your refund.
SmartPay
If you have a SmartPay prepaid account, any past-due balances will be placed into “debt recovery” on July 31. Starting in August, 30 percent of all payments made will go toward payment of this balance. You can pay more toward the balance if you choose.
Traditional Accounts
If you have a traditional account, all past-due balances on these accounts will be transferred to a COVID-19 account. This balance will be set up on six equal payments and you will have until Jan. 31, 2021, to get the complete balance paid. COVID-19 accounts are fee exempt and cutoff exempt.
A COVID-19 account will be set up for each account with a past-due balance. So a member with eight past-due accounts will have eight COVID-19 accounts. The COVID-19 account bill will be mailed along with the bill for the corresponding electric account.
If you still need additional assistance paying your bill, there is a list of financial support agencies posted on our COVID-19 page at sremc.com
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at 910.892.8071 or billing@sremc.com..