Energy customers in Muskegon having a hard time paying their utility bills are being offered a little help from the Salvation Army.
“We offer energy assistance throughout the whole state of Michigan but we know there is a large need in Muskegon County.”
That’s Darcy Cunningham, Director of Energy Assistance programs for the Salvation Army. She says the need is why they’re hosting two events for customers of DTE Energy and Consumers Energy who are having difficulty making their utility payments. They can apply for relief at the Salvation Army of Muskegon Corp Community Center. There was an event today until 4 pm but there’s another next Wednesday, March 15th.
“What we found is that there is a high need of customers in the Muskegon area that we can’t reach through one on one appointments because there’s not enough capacity so we wanted to build in more capacity by offering these events to enroll people for payment plans for their energy bill.”
Staff from The Salvation Army will be on hand to meet with customers to help them enroll in an affordable payment plan, which will reduce monthly energy bills and forgive overdue balances over the program year. Cunningham says it’s their hope to also help residents with other areas of need.
“Then be able to offer them more resources too, such as food assistance, housing assistance so then we can engage them in more programs than just energy assistance.”
The next event will be held next Wednesday, March 15th at The Salvation Army of Muskegon Corps Community Center.
