Prepared to Support Public Health, Ensure Reliable Power During Coronavirus Pandemic

Tucson Electric Power is taking proactive steps to support public health and ensure the continued availability of safe, reliable energy amid escalating concern about the COVID-19 coronavirus.

As a provider of a critical service, TEP is vigilant about potential public health threats. In addition to reviewing our own systems and supplies, we’re coordinating with state and local authorities and complying with directives from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Like many employers, we’ve taken action to limit unnecessary risks of exposure, including restricting travel, canceling less-critical gatherings and requiring sick employees to remain home in line with CDC guidelines. We know we play a critical role in our community and are prepared to continue in that capacity through any contingency that may arise.

Our customer service representatives remain available to provide assistance as needed, and our crews are still on the job, ensuring that our system remains up and running. We’ve stocked up on critical materials where appropriate, reviewed our supply chains and made sure our power plant technicians, system operators and other critical teams are well prepared for potential problems.

We stand ready to help customers affected by this pandemic with payment extensions or enrollment in short-term assistance and bill discount programs. We know some customers could face financial challenges because of this public health threat, so we are suspending service disconnections and late fees until further notice.

Please understand that our crews and other employees have been advised to take precautions when interacting with customers or other members of the public based on social distancing guidance from the CDC. These measures include avoiding handshakes and attempting to stay at least 6 feet away from others when practical.

We’ll be working with other critical service providers, including hospitals and local government agencies, to ensure that we’re working together to support our community’s well-being. We know the best service we can offer is to continue providing safe, reliable energy – a commitment we’ll keep throughout this public health challenge.