How to dispute your bill from New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board
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New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board customers have a new option to appeal incorrect bills.
Why it matters: Officials hope it will make life easier for residents who have been stuck with estimated bills that vary wildly from month to month.
The big picture: The New Orleans City Council changed the dispute process in September and hired Hammerman & Gainer International to handle the investigations.
- Before, the appeals went through SWBNO and the City Council.
- The council allocated $3.4 million to hire the contractor who will tackle the backlog of disputes in partnership with the utility.
How it works: You can talk with an HGI representative in person, on the phone or via email, according to information from SWBNO.
- In person: Visit SWBNO's building at 625 S. Joseph St. on weekdays from 8:30am - 4pm.
- Email: [email protected]
- Phone: (504) 910-6484
Zoom in: If a customer contacts SWBNO about a dispute, the customer service agent will flag the account for investigation and share the information with HGI, who will reach out directly to the customer.
- All existing bill disputes have been transferred to HGI, the utility says.
State of play: SWBNO is replacing its old residential meters with smart meters that can be read remotely.
- The previous ones required manual reads, which led to inaccurate estimates.
- SWBNO is on track to have half the city's residential meters switched by the end of the year, the utility said in a statement.
- Starting in 2025, SWBNO will no longer provide estimated bills after state lawmakers banned the utility from doing so. Meter readers will get actual usage figures from the remaining 70,000 meters, SWBNO says.
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