cschuldt@nujournal.com
NEW ULM — The New Ulm Public Utilities Commission approved a plan to resume normal collection activity and service disconnections under the policies outlined in the New Ulm Public Utilities (NUPU) regulations.
On June 23, 2020, the commission authorized the establishment of the COVID-19 deferred payment plan. Utilities Director Kris Manderfeld explained this action suspended disconnections and penalties until the end of the peacetime emergency. The reason for this action was to relieve customers of a potential hardship during the pandemic.
On April 15, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission tentatively approved regulated utility transition plans designed to move these utilities back to their pre-pandemic customer service practices. This has prompted NUPU to begin the development of similar plans.