Independent U.S. water utility directory · 2026 edition
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Delinquency and service protection

Understand the shut-off process before it reaches your door

The safest time to ask about a past-due balance, payment arrangement, or hardship protection is before the final notice. This page translates the provider’s published rules into a practical checklist.

Notice and timing

How delinquency is handled

Grace period after the due date

The code defines the normal payment window as 15 days following the billing date; a payment received by the next morning at 8:00 a.m. through the overnight depository is timely. Once the due date passes, a 10% penalty is added and a final notice is mailed. For the ordinary City-disconnect sequence, if payment is still not received by the following month’s due date, a field representative is dispatched to disconnect service. Non-City provider exceptions may use a 10th-day final notice plus a 24-hour cure period.

Late-fee calculation

When payment is not received by the due date, Georgetown adds a 10% penalty to the account and mails a final notice. The City code allows customers age 60 or older, and customers with a qualifying Social Security Administration disability, to request a standing late-penalty waiver in writing; late notices and payment history still occur, and the waiver does not prevent disconnection after the notice’s disconnect date. The code also permits case-by-case repayment plans for substantial water leaks or substantial electric equipment malfunctions, with a $15 administration fee under the 2025–26 miscellaneous-fee ordinance.

Disconnection timeline

The ordinary timeline is: bill issued; payment due 15 days after the billing date; if unpaid, a 10% penalty is added and a final notice is mailed; if still unpaid by the following month’s due date, a Field Customer Service Representative is dispatched to disconnect. A disconnected customer must pay the account in full by cash, credit card, or money order before reconnection and may be required to post the standard deposit again. Where water/electric service is supplied by a non-City entity but the City bills unmetered services, a final notice is issued on the 10th day after the due date and provides 24 hours to cure before the non-City provider disconnects.

Statutory warning protocol

What notice should you expect?

The code requires a final notice after the first missed due date; the current Customer Self-Service system also supports paperless bills and other correspondence by email. Late payments still generate a late notice even when an age/disability late-penalty waiver is in place. Customers can monitor balances, bills, consumption, and requests in CSS. The reviewed public sources do not specify a separate automated voice sequence, door hanger, or dedicated shutoff SMS sequence beyond the final notice and optional electronic correspondence.

If a notice seems wrong

Document the account balance, payment confirmation, notice date, and any household medical or accessibility concern. Then call the provider using the contact information on its official bill or profile before the stated deadline.

Restoring service

Reconnection costs and timing

The current 2025–26 Georgetown fee ordinance sets a $100 same-day reconnection fee for requests received by 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding weekends and City holidays. The after-hours reconnection fee is $130 for requests received after 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday or for connects/reconnects outside Monday–Friday 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m., including weekends and holidays. The past-due account must also be paid in full, and the City may require the standard deposit again.

Need a payment arrangement?

Ask before the shut-off date

Tell the customer-service representative that you are responding to a delinquency notice and ask specifically about installment plans, hardship protection, charity referrals, and the amount required to stop the disconnection order.

Customer protection guide

What to do when a bill becomes urgent

A delinquency notice from City of Georgetown Utilities / Customer Care should be treated as a time-sensitive account document. Read the exact due date, amount required, notice method, and contact instructions on the notice, then compare them with the provider details in this guide.

If you have already paid, gather the confirmation number and posting date. If you cannot pay the full amount, call before the stated shut-off date and ask about arrangements, hardship protections, agency referrals, and the minimum amount needed to pause action.

Keep the conversation specific: ask what will stop the order, when the payment must post, whether a reconnection fee applies, and whether the utility requires a separate request for medical, accessibility, or household-protection status.