Hampton, NH - July 29, 2003 -- Unitil Corporation (AMEX:UTL) www.unitil.com has just made bill paying easier. This month, in cooperation with Western Union, Unitil has added more convenient walk-in utility bill payment locations throughout its service areas. Visit the Unitil web site at www.unitil.com to find the nearest participating Western Union location.
"More walk-in payment locations means that customers who prefer paying their bills in person may have shorter trips to the closest payment center," said Unitil's Customer Service Manager, Mary Jane Cleveland. "We now have nine walk-in sites in North Central Massachusetts, three in the Concord, New Hampshire, area, and five in the New Hampshire Seacoast area."
Walk-in bill payment is one of more than a dozen flexible ways Unitil helps its residential customers manage their accounts. Other tools include:
- On-Line Account Management - Log on to www.unitil.com and click "My Unitil."
- Budget Billing Program - Residential customers can enroll on-line to distribute their utility payments evenly throughout the year. Enrollment is open now for Budget Billing programs beginning in September in Massachusetts and October in New Hampshire.
- Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment (EBPP) - It's a free, secure, reliable bill delivery and payment service that enables residential customers to view and pay their Unitil bills via computer.
- Uni-Pay - Residential customers can have their monthly utility payment auto-matically deducted from their checking account. To find out more, log on to the www.unitil.com web site.
- Mail-in Payment - Unitil provides a return envelope in every bill to make it easy to mail a payment.
- Credit Card Payment - Unitil takes Visa® or MasterCard® over the phone or by mail using the back of the billing statement.
- Debit Card by Phone - Unitil accepts debit cards with the Visa® or MasterCard® logo for quick and easy payment by telephone.
- Special Payment Plans - For customers who have trouble paying their bills, Unitil's Customer Service representatives are available 24 hours a day to work out a payment plan.
- Special Discounted Rates - income-eligible residential customers may qualify to receive special discounted rates and federal fuel assistance.
- Community Agencies - Help is also available from the Good Neighbor Energy Fund in Massachusetts, or the Neighbor-Helping-Neighbor Fund in New Hampshire.
- Third Party Notification - Customers may designate any person or organization to receive a copy of their monthly bill.
- Energy Efficiency Programs - Unitil offers an array of programs to help income-qualified customers improve the energy efficiency and comfort of their homes. Programs include home energy audits, rebates, weatherization, and assistance in finding energy-efficient ENERGY STAR® lighting fixtures and appliances. Log on to www.unitil.com for details.
To find out more about any of these programs, Unitil's Massachusetts customers may call 1-888-301-7700. New Hampshire customers in the Capital Area (Concord) may call 1-800-852-3339, and in the Seacoast Area (Exeter & Hampton) 1-800-582-7276. Customer Service associates are available 24 hours a day.
Unitil is a public utility holding company with subsidiaries providing electric service in New Hampshire, electric and gas service in Massachusetts and energy services throughout the Northeast. Its subsidiaries include, Fitchburg Gas and Electric Light Company, Unitil Energy Systems, Inc., Unitil Power Corp., Unitil Realty Corp., Unitil Service Corp. and its unregu-lated business unit Unitil Resources, Inc. Usource L.L.C. is a subsidiary of Unitil Resources, Inc. and provides energy brokering and related products and services (www.usourceonline.com).
For more information, visit Unitil at www.unitil.com or call Don Hudson at 603-773-6506.
Contact
Don Hudson
hudson@unitil.com
Corporate Office
Liberty Lane West
Hampton, NH 03842-1720
800/999-6501
