City and Minnesota Power officials are urging people to seek help as debts mount.
Written By: Peter Passi
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Forum News Service file photo
When it comes to the financial toll the COVID-19 pandemic has taken on Northland residents, the numbers speak for themselves.
About 3,000 customers of Comfort Systems, a division of Duluth's public works and utilities department, recently received notices for unpaid utility bills. That's more than triple the 922 delinquency notices sent out to Duluth residents in December 2019.
Collectively, Comfort Systems customers are more than $1.9 million in arrears.
Meanwhile, Minnesota Power reports that about 14,000 of its Northland household customers' bills are now past due. That represents about 13% of the utility's residential customer base, said Tina Koecher, manager of customer experience operations for the Duluth-based utility company. She said the local difficulties paying utility bills fit within a national trend.