Illinois American Water urges customers with past due balances to access the company’s financial assistance program and available payment plans

[April 01, 2021]  

Illinois American Water is urging customers with a past due balance to access the company’s financial assistance program, H2O Help to Others. This program, along with payment plans, is available to help prevent service interruption for nonpayment.

Customers with a past due balance should call 800-422-2782 to avoid their service being shut off. If customers aren’t currently experiencing a hardship, but their situation changes in the coming months, they should also call the utility immediately.

“We understand it can be hard to get back on track once an account falls behind. If a customer is experiencing a financial hardship, they simply need to call us and let us know. They can also reach out to their local Salvation Army office directly for assistance by mentioning our H2O Help to Others program,” said Beth Matthews, Vice President of Operations.

Illinois American Water’s H2O Help to Others program offers financial assistance to residential customers in need. The program is administered by Salvation Army agencies within the company’s service area. Information, including Salvation Army contact information, can be found online at www.illinoisamwater.com  under Customer Service & Billing in the Customer Assistance Program section. (A list of Salvation Army offices is also included at the end of this release.)

The H2O Help to Others program provides customers who have experienced a financial hardship up to $200 in assistance, r egardless of income. Assistance of over $200 is available in special circumstances.

Matthews explained, “Our customer assistance program is not based on income to ensure it is inclusive for all of our residential customers who may be experiencing a hardship. It’s important we do what we can to help.”

In addition to financial assistance, customers may also qualify to enroll in a payment plan to pay the balance of their bill over time. The company also offers budget billing so residential customers can pay a fixed monthly payment over a period of 12 months. Customers are not automatically enrolled in these programs and must call 800-422-2782 to enroll.

Illinois American Water H2O HELP TO OTHERS Program Salvation Army Offices

LINCOLN SALVATION ARMY
[phone]
307 N. Kickapoo Street
Lincoln, IL 62656

About Illinois American Water - Illinois American Water, a subsidiary of American Water (NYSE: AWK), is the largest investor-owned water utility in the state, providing high-quality and reliable water and/or wastewater services to approximately 1.3 million people. American Water also operates a customer service center in Alton and a quality control and research laboratory in Belleville. With a history dating back to 1886, American Water is the largest and most geographically diverse U.S. publicly traded water and wastewater utility company. The company employs more than 7,000 dedicated professionals who provide regulated and market-based drinking water, wastewater and other related services to 15 million people in 46 states. American Water provides safe, clean, affordable and reliable water services to our customers to help make sure we keep their lives flowing. For more information, visit amwater.com

[Karen Cotton, External Affairs Manager]