Dear Benton PUD Customers,

As we continue to deal with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, I want you to know how much we appreciate you and understand the challenges you are all facing. I also want to assure you that Benton PUD remains committed to providing reliable and cost-effective electricity and wholesale broadband services that we know are critically important to your daily lives. Thanks to strategic investments in technology and infrastructure and an ongoing commitment to plan and prepare for emergency situations of all kinds, Benton PUD is well-positioned to meet the challenge of current events and is dedicated to doing our part to preserve the health, safety and well-being of our customers and employees.

As your local nonprofit public power utility, we ask that customers who can pay their monthly bill please continue to do so. This will help us maintain business continuity while providing flexibility to those most impacted by the pandemic. We understand many customers are experiencing financial hardship, so our Customer Service staff is available to answer questions and to discuss payment arrangements if needed. While customers are still obligated to pay for electricity they consume, we will be as flexible and as reasonable as possible with payment arrangements.

Here is some important information I think will be helpful to you:

• To help provide customers some relief, Benton PUD’s Board of Commissioners adopted temporary changes to our customer service policies to suspend late fees, urgent notices and disconnects for non-payment for all customers.
• Currently, our customer service lobbies and drive-thru windows are closed. Our customer service staff is available by phone, Monday through Friday 8:30 am to 5:00 pm, at 509-582-2175 in Kennewick, 509-786-1841 in Prosser or by email at webcsr@bentonpud.org. Customers are encouraged to contact us during regular business hours, but we do have customer service personnel available 24/7. The lobby and drive-thru closures are subject to change based on direction from Governor Inslee. Please refer to BentonPUD.org for updates.
• Self-service payment options are available 24/7 for your convenience:
  • SmartHub at BentonPUD.org or the SmartHub app
  • PayNow at BentonPUD.org
  • Pay by Phone by calling 509-582-2175
  • Payment kiosks at the entrances of the Kennewick and Prosser offices
  • Drop boxes located at the Kennewick and Prosser offices

Currently field work is limited to restoring service after outages and tasks necessary to continue providing safe, reliable electricity. Employees in the field follow public health recommendations for social distancing and use of personal protective equipment. Restrictions on field work is subject to change based on direction from Governor Inslee.

Our operations staff is available 24/7 to respond to power outages and restore service. If the lights go out, please continue to report outages by calling 888-582-2176 or by logging in to SmartHub. By using SmartHub, you can enroll in notifications and alerts, so you know when there is a power outage at your home or business and when the power has been restored.

Benton PUD has been here for our customers since 1934 and our employees are grateful and honored to carry on the long tradition of providing safe, reliable and affordable services in the communities we serve. We appreciate your patience and flexibility and wish you all well as we move forward together. For more information on our response to the pandemic go to BentonPUD.org/COVID-19.

Sincerely,
Rick Dunn
General Manager