Beginning May 1, Columbia Power & Water Systems (CPWS) customers will once again begin to see late fees on their bills, and past due customers may be subject to disruption of service.
CPWS moved to a new billing system in December 2024, prompting the suspension of fees and cutoffs, to allow consumers to create new online accounts and have time to understand the SmartHub platform now utilized by CPWS.
Customers who are 30, 60, 90 or more days past due will continue seeing emails and letters in their mailbox to alert them of the past due balance.
“This system implementation was a massive undertaking by our staff, and now that we’ve had time to adjust on our end and we’ve given our ratepayers a chance to become familiar with the system, we will begin to reinstate penalties for those who are behind on their bills,” CPWS CEO Jonathan Hardin said. “While we are obligated by the TVA to collect outstanding debt, we are also committed to taking care of our customers, and we will do anything we can to make this a smooth transition.”
Payment arrangements for customers who have bills more than $500 past due can be made when paying the most recent bill on an account in May. For customers who are less than $500 past due, the past due balance will be subject to normal CPWS policy.
While power and water bills are combined into one bill, CPWS PowerNet broadband customers will be billed separately, meaning while some consumers may have paid their utility bills as normal, the broadband portion of the bills may not have been paid and could be past due.
To stay as up to date as possible with your bill, CPWS customers can register for SmartHub, which offers the ability to see bills and payment history, set up autopay, monitor usage, set up email and text alerts and more.
Any customer who experiences a disruption in service should be aware that CPWS will attempt same-day restoration for any account paid by 2 p.m. on that day.
Customers who are delinquent on their bills are encouraged to contact CPWS by calling 931-388-4833, visiting our location at 201 Pickens Lane in Columbia or visiting cpws.com to become current prior to May 1.