Raleigh residents are bracing for significant changes on Monday as the city announced it will resume water service disconnections after a five-month pause.
The city put late fees and water disconnections on pause after it implemented a new payment portal for residents. For some residents, like Efrem Gandy, it was a rude awakening.
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"My check didn't come in on time that bill needed to be paid. Call them. Hey, no problem. We're waiving that fee. Okay. So then time by, time went by, they started back. I looked, 'What's this extra?'" Gandy said.
In July, the city increased water and consumption charges by 4%, which impacted nearly all single-family homes in Raleigh, as well as Garner, Knightdale, Rolesville, Wake Forest, Wendell and Zebulon.
Raleigh Water said the pause was to give customers a chance to transition to its new billing e-portal, which began in November. Some late fees are already back on bills. According to Kimberly Holmes-Iverson with Raleigh Water, they felt that customers were ready for the change.
"We're showing about a 60% increase in customers actually registered on the new sites over those who registered on the legacy site," Holmes-Iverson said. "So that's showing that it's time for us to resume normal billing operations."
Weeks earlier, the town of Apex said it would resume late fees and disconnections for utility accounts later in 2026 after a cyberattack years earlier disrupted billing.
Meanwhile, Gandy and other customers said they are feeling the opposite.
"With the way the economy is right now, gas is going up, and food is going up," Gandy said.
While customers said the economy is making them feel more stressed, Holmes-Iverson said the city has assistance options for customers who fall behind, including payment plans and auto pay.
"Knowledge is power, and we are here to help," Holmes-Iverson said. "Once we know that you were trying to tackle your bill, and you were receiving some help. You will be removed from that list of outstanding payments and will continue to have service."
Holmes-Iverson said Raleigh Water has been working to notify customers with the highest-outstanding balances of the change.