Yes, Tennessee American Water has traditionally provided third-party billing services for local municipalities and others as part of a customer’s monthly water bill. As many utilities in our area have already done, Tennessee American Water is making significant upgrades to its information technology systems and can no longer support third-party billing services without creating a significant cost to our customers.
This cost was one of several factors that led Tennessee American Water to make a strategic decision to exit the third-party billing services line of business later this year so we can better focus on our core mission of providing high-quality and reliable water services to the customers we serve in the Chattanooga and North Georgia area.
We understand this decision impacts the local governments in our service areas. This is why we have been working with them for more than 16 months to develop a process for handling their billing services, and we will continue to work with them and their new billing vendor to ensure a smooth and timely transition.
Tennessee American Water has proudly served the Chattanooga community for more than 125 years, and we plan to continue providing high-quality, reliable water service for another 125 years. We are proud of this history, and we are proud of the work our employees are doing every day to ensure the individuals, families and businesses in the Chattanooga and North Georgia area have access to pure, clean water when they turn on the faucet. These efforts are the reason why our customer satisfaction ratings continue to be among the highest of any utility and continuously show more than 94 percent of our customers are satisfied with the quality and level of service they receive from Tennessee American Water.
At times, people may never think about, know or realize what we do, but one fact remains – our customers have come to depend upon us and want to keep Tennessee American Water as their local water company. We appreciate this support and look forward to delivering high-quality and reliable water service for years to come at an exceptional value – a cost that remains less than a penny per gallon.
Deron Allen, President
Tennessee American Water