AUSTIN -- The City of Austin Utilities department is offering ways to help customers who are affected by the Federal Government shutdown.

If a utility customer states that they are directly affected by the government shutdown, the City of Austin offers the following options:

  • Postpone collection activity for 30 days
  • Customer eligibility through Customer Assistance Programs
  • Payment arrangments available
  • Service restored in event of non-payment disconnection

If the government shutdown lasts more than 30 days, the department will re-evaluate each affected customer’s account.

"As a community-owned utility, we are here to support our customers affected by the government shutdown and who may be experiencing difficulties paying their bills," said Kerry Overton, Deputy General Manager and Chief Customer and Compliance Officer. "We have a process in place that hopefully will make getting help with their City of Austin Utility bills easy during this difficult time." 

The City of Austin urges customers experiencing financial hardships to contact the Customer Care Contact Center at 512-494-9400 to work through mutual solutions to ensure continuous utility service. Austin Energy manages the City of Austin utility billing for water, electric and other services.