VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Virginia Natural Gas (VNG) is helping connect customers impacted by financial hardship due to COVID-19 for the second time this year.
VNG says they are connecting more than 7,300 residential and business customers to $1.6 million in financial assistance through Phase II of the relief fund. This is a special assistance grant program to help pay down, or in some cases pay off past-due energy bills.
“We know the past year has been difficult and recognize that COVID-19 has affected many of our customers, potentially impacting their source of income,” said Robert Duvall, VNG president. “This second phase of grants shows our commitment to help meet the needs of our customers.”
Last December, VNG received $4.4 million in COVID relief funds through the Virginia State Corporation Commission as part of the CARES Act.
In March, VNG connected nearly 12,000 residential and business customers to $2.8 million of these grant funds during Phase I.
Eligible customers will receive a one-time grant automatically applied to their account listed as a “Coronavirus Relief Fund” credit on their June or July energy bill. The grant does not need to be repaid.
“Though the country and the state of Virginia are on the mend and recovering from the adverse impacts of the pandemic, the number of requests we received in Phase II shows there’s still a need — a need to continue assisting our customers by helping distribute critical relief funds that help provide peace of mind,” added Duvall.
