UI, CNG, and SCG Recognize 250-Member Customer Service Team

In honor of National Customer Service Day on Saturday, January 17, companies thank Customer Service department for commitment to assisting nearly 750,000 customers across Connecticut, including through in-person outreach

 

ORANGE, Conn. — January 16, 2026 — In advance of National Customer Service Day tomorrow, United Illuminating (UI), Connecticut Natural Gas (CNG), and Southern Connecticut Gas (SCG), subsidiaries of Avangrid, Inc., are recognizing the 250 members of the Customer Service team, who together serve nearly 750,000 electric and natural gas customers across Connecticut. The companies’ Customer Service team is made up of nearly 150 Customer Service Representatives as well as professionals from wide-ranging departments including Customer Care Centers, Billing, Credit & Collections, Escalated Complaints, and Compliance. Despite managing nearly 1.2 million customer contacts in 2025, the Customer Service team has launched and grown its in-person outreach efforts through Customer Enrollment Events for the last three years, in which Representatives spend periodic evening hours enrolling customers directly into assistance programs they qualify for.

 

“Our companies are truly only as strong as our customer service, which is why we’re so fortunate to have such an excellent cadre of team members on our Customer Service team,” said Frank Reynolds, President and CEO of UI, CNG and SCG. “With National Customer Service Day tomorrow, I would like to personally thank every member of the team for their hard work and dedication: you are valued here.”

 

“It’s a privilege to lead a team that is wholly dedicated to helping our customers navigate their electricity and natural gas service and all the options they have access to through our companies,” said Tracey Pelella, Vice President of Customer Service at UI, CNG and SCG. “Whether they’re speaking to our customers on the phone, analyzing our processes to improve them for customers, working with regulators, or meeting customers in person to enroll them into assistance programs, our Customer Service team works tirelessly to provide our customers with the superior service they expect and deserve.”

In addition to their usual functions, the Customer Service team across all three companies have made significant efforts in the past three years to enroll customers directly into payment assistance programs at in-person Customer Enrollment Events. All three companies have scheduled these enrollment events in the coming weeks:

  • Next week, Thursday, January 22, any CNG customer interested in enrolling in assistance programs 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 interested in enrolling in assistance programs 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 any in-person 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). 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.

About CNG: Connecticut Natural Gas Corporation (CNG) is a subsidiary of Avangrid, Inc. Established in 1848, CNG operates 2,200 miles of natural gas distribution pipeline, serving approximately 183,000 customers across 26 communities in the greater Hartford-New Britain area, and Greenwich, Connecticut. For more information, visit www.cngcorp.com.

About SCG: The Southern Connecticut Gas Company (SCG) is a subsidiary of Avangrid, Inc. Established in 1847, SCG operates approximately 2,500 miles of natural gas distribution pipelines, serving approximately 206,000 customers in the greater New Haven and Bridgeport areas of Connecticut. For more information, visit www.soconngas.com.

About UI: The United Illuminating Company (UI) is a subsidiary of Avangrid, Inc. Established in 1899, UI operates approximately 3,600 miles of electric distribution lines and 138 miles of transmission lines. It serves approximately 341,000 customers in the greater New Haven and Bridgeport areas of Connecticut. UI received the Edison Electric Institute’s Emergency Recovery Award in 2019 and 2021. For more information, visit www.uinet.com.

About Avangrid: Avangrid, Inc. is a leading energy company in the United States working to meet the growing demand for energy for homes and businesses across the nation through service, innovation, and continued investments by expanding grid infrastructure and energy generation projects. Avangrid has offices in Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, Maine, and Oregon, including operations in 23 states with approximately $48 billion in assets, and has two primary lines of business: networks and power. Through its networks business, Avangrid owns and operates eight electric and natural gas utilities, serving more than 3.4 million customers in New York and New England. Through its power generation business, Avangrid owns and operates 80 energy generation facilities across the United States producing 10.5 GW of power for over 3.1 million customers. Avangrid employs approximately 8,000 people and has been recognized by JUST Capital as one of the JUST 100 companies – a ranking of America’s best corporate citizens in 2025 for the fifth consecutive year. The company was named among the World’s Most Ethical Companies in 2025 for the seventh consecutive year by the Ethisphere Institute. Avangrid is a member of the group of companies controlled by Iberdrola, S.A. For more information, visit http://www.avangrid.com.