LITTLE ROCK – In response to the concerns of Summit Utilities’ customers, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin issued the following statement:
“My office has received approximately 650 calls and emails since last week about Summit Utilities’ high energy bills. I reached out to Summit CEO Kurt Adams and expressed my concerns about the situation. I learned that some customers were overcharged due to an error in Summit’s billing system. We have also learned from Summit that approximately 167,000 customers in Arkansas and Oklahoma have been affected by the data processing issue. Summit’s leadership has assured me that they are making this right by their customers, and that no Arkansans will end up stuck with bills that are inconsistent with their energy usage. Any overcharges will be paid back to the affected customers. I will continue to monitor the situation, and I will make sure that Summit Utilities corrects this problem and issues any refunds necessary to impacted Arkansans.”
In their update to Attorney General Griffin, Summit Utilities noted:
- Only bills dated between January 17-24, 2023, with the word “estimate” in the “What Have I Used” section were impacted.
- If “estimate” does not appear on their bill, the customer has not been impacted by this issue.
- The estimated bills have been canceled, and corrected bills are being issued to all impacted customers.
- Summit will not be charging any late fees to impacted customers during this time.
- Due dates for impacted customers have been extended.
- Late payments due to the new bill being issued will not impact the “good standing” status of a customer’s payment history.
Summit Utilities encourages impacted customers to take the following actions:
- If a customer is enrolled in an Average Monthly Billing (AMB) plan, a payment arrangement, or AutoPay no action is required.
- If a customer account is on AutoPay, the correct amount to be credited or owed will be drafted from their account on the next billing cycle.
- If a customer account incurred overdraft fees or fines due to this issue, the customer service team will help remedy the added charges.
- If a customer already paid the estimated amount due, an adjustment will be made to their next month’s bill.
- Summit’s Customer Service Call Center is available to help if customers need assistance, and their hours of operation are 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. They can be reached at (800) 992-7552.