UI, CNG, and SCG Held More than 100 In-Person Outreach Events in 2025, Reaching More than 4,000 Customers

At top: Two members of the UI/CNG/SCG team table at the Ansonia Autumn Festival in October 2025; at bottom: a member of the Conservation & Load Management team tables at the Hamden Backpack Giveaway in July 2025

 

 


 

ORANGE, Conn. — January 7, 2026 — Following a record-breaking year of in-person customer outreach, today, United Illuminating (UI), Connecticut Natural Gas (CNG), and Southern Connecticut Gas (SCG), subsidiaries of Avangrid, Inc., announced that company representatives served more than 4,000 customers in person during 103 community outreach events in 2025. The figure represents a nearly four-fold increase in the number of customers served two years ago, throughout 2023, demonstrating the companies’ commitment to meeting customers directly in their communities to answer their questions, provide information on available resources, and enroll them directly into assistance programs they qualify for.

 

“While the challenges in the energy and utility industry are real, I have been encouraged by and very proud of our team’s deepening commitment to meeting customers in-person where they are,” said Frank Reynolds, President and CEO of UI, CNG and SCG. “Whether they’re tabling at a local senior center or a resource fair, or our Customer Service Representatives are giving up three hours of their evening to enroll customers into assistance programs they qualify for, all of us are committed to providing our customers the resources they need, when they need it. Our outreach in 2025 smashed our previous record, and I am already looking forward to kicking off this year with two more enrollment events and other in-person outreach to come.”

 

The community outreach events in which UI, CNG, and SCG participated in 2025 ranged from large-scale town festivals, such as the Milford Oyster Festival, to weekly farmer’s markets and senior center pop-ups, such as in Bridgeport and Trumbull. During these outreach events, company representatives from the Community Relations team and the Conservation and Load Management (i.e., energy efficiency) team answered questions and provided information on available energy efficiency programs, such as the Home Energy Solutions program. Throughout 2025, the companies also hosted six enrollment events, in which Customer Service Representatives enrolled nearly 150 qualifying customers into assistance programs to help them manage their bill.

 

All three companies have scheduled customer enrollment events in the coming weeks, offering an opportunity for customers to meet one-on-one with Customer Service Representatives and enroll directly into hardship assistance programs they qualify for.

  • On January 22, any CNG customer can come to the Human Resources Agency (HRA) of New Britain, located at 180 Clinton Street, New Britain CT 06053, from 4 PM to 7 PM.
  • On February 12, any UI and/or SCG customer can come to the United Way of Greater New Haven, located at 370 James Street #403, New Haven CT 06513, from 3 PM to 6 PM. Members of the companies’ Community Relations and Conservation and Load Management team will also host a resource fair in the adjacent community room to answer questions and provide additional resources for attendees.

 

Customers interested in attending either enrollment event should bring their utility bill, any income information (e.g., paystubs, unemployment documentation), and any state or federal programs they qualify for (e.g., SNAP, WIC, HUSKY) to assist with their enrollment. The companies’ Customer Service Representatives will determine if they qualify for one or more of the available assistance programs, below:

  • Winter Protection: For customers who qualify for financial hardship, UI, CNG and SCG will not turn off their electricity or gas between November 1 and May 1. Financial hardship must be renewed annually to receive Winter Protection.. To prevent your service from being shut off after May 1, contact UI, CNG or SCG to set up a payment arrangement. 
  • Low-Income Discount Rate (LIDR): The low-income discount rate, available for UI customers only, can help lower qualifying customers' electric bills by offering a 10% (Tier 1) or 50% (Tier 2) discount on their monthly charges. For example, a customer whose monthly charges totaled $100 would receive a $10 or $50 discount on each monthly bill. 
  • Matching Payment Program (MPP): Available to residential customers, this program is designed to help lower energy bills for those who can demonstrate financial hardship. UI, CNG and SCG will match every dollar paid by customers or on their behalf, up to a zero balance. 
  • Flexible Payment Arrangements: Available to all residential customers, regardless of financial status. Customers can pay past-due balances over a period of up to 18 months. Current payment arrangements may be renegotiated due to a change in financial circumstances per Conn. Agencies Regs. § 16-3-100(b)(3)(A). 

 

For more information, please visit: www.uinet.com/helpwithbill, www.cngcorp.com/helpwithbill, or www.soconngas.com/helpwithbill.