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week of 2/27/02 | |
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SMN
Beginning March 4, Duke Power customers in Swain County will be able to pay bills at new locations in both Bryson City and Cherokee.
The Duke payment center in Bryson City will be Video Connection/Valley Village Cellular, located at 204 Valley Village Shopping Center. The Cherokee payment center will be Showtime Movie Rental and Radio Shack at 80 Frontier Drive.
Both locations will offer additional conveniences, including courtesy phone, ample parking, and extended hours of operation. They will also issue meter bases for new and modified services.
Customer service hours at both locations will be from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday.
The local Duke number, 488.2116, remains unchanged. It can be used for routine business 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and to report outages or emergencies 24 hours per day.
In late 2000, the company announced plans to begin changing locations where customers pay bills in person by moving to third party pay agents.
“We are committed to providing our customers excellent service that is consistent, using the most efficient and cost-competitive options,” said Fred Alexander, Duke Power district manager.
Alexander said pay agents are businesses that agree to accept payments on behalf of another company. These businesses typically have more flexible hours and some are open on weekends. Pay agents offer customers with billing questions a courtesy phone to contact a Duke Power, Nantahala Area representative.
“The changes in Swain County are part of a larger plan. We have already moved to a pay agent system in Cashiers and Andrews. Soon we’ll phase in pay agents in Franklin and Sylva. Bill inserts will inform customers about specific plans before the pay agent system begins in their area,” said Alexander.
Duke Power’s Nantahala Area serves 61,000 customers in 1,729 square mile area of southwestern North Carolina. This includes Cherokee, Graham, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties. Duke Power purchased Nantahala Power and Light in 1988. In 2000, NP&L became part of Duke Power.
Duke Power, a business unit of Duke Energy, is one of the nation’s largest electric utilities. It provides electricity to approximately two million customers in North Carolina and South Carolina. Duke Power operates three nuclear generating stations, eight coal-fired stations, 31 hydroelectric stations and numerous combustion turbine units. More information about Duke Power is available on the Internet at www.dukepower.com.
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