HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As recovery efforts in Houston continue following the widespread destruction from Hurricane Beryl, today NRG Energy announced a commitment of $2 million to provide near and long-term disaster relief. The funding includes support for customer bill payment assistance, a four-county recovery fund, employee relief and charitable donations.
“Houston is our home, and the widespread impact Hurricane Beryl had on our community, colleagues and customers was devastating to see,” said Rasesh Patel, president, NRG Consumer. “In the immediate aftermath, we focused on supporting our impacted employees and customers. Now, we are looking to expand our relief efforts to the Greater Houston area. We stand with our neighbors during their time of need and – together – we are confident we will recover.”
Customer Assistance
NRG is providing assistance to its customers of its family of retail electricity brands, including Reliant. To support those facing hardships following the storm, NRG is providing more than $1.3 million to directly help customers in need by:
- Waiving late fees
- Providing need-based bill credits to eligible customers
- Increasing funding for Reliant’s CARE program
Reliant’s CARE (Community Assistance by Reliant Energy) program provides bill pay assistance through social service agencies, including Baker Ripley, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston and Memorial Assistance Ministries, among others. For anyone who needs assistance or information on these programs, contact 2-1-1 within Texas or visit 211texas.org.
In addition, NRG’s retail electricity brands are offering voluntary payment extensions and deferred payment plans to customers in counties impacted by Hurricane Beryl. Deferred payment plans allow customers to pay their balances due in installments, rather than all at once.
Houston Strong
To support the communities we serve, NRG is making a $500,000 commitment to numerous charitable organizations. This includes a $250,000 cash donation to the Hurricane Beryl Recovery Fund, which was established by the Greater Houston Disaster Alliance for residents of the City of Houston and the counties of Harris, Fort Bend, Montgomery and Waller. NRG is also triple matching all eligible employee donations for disaster relief to increase their impact.
Reliant also offers 22 Beat the Heat cooling centers across the Houston area, which provide a safe space for seniors and vulnerable residents to cool off. The majority of these centers are currently operational following the storm. In the days following Hurricane Beryl, NRG donated water, ice and batteries to several of these cooling centers and temporary relief sites and will continue to do so as recovery efforts progress. In addition, more than 500 portable chargers have been donated through a Houston Rockets relief distribution event. For more information, visit reliant.com/beattheheat.
To assist our impacted Houston-area employees, NRG is also providing an initial $150,000 toward the NRG Employee Relief Fund (NERF) and designated its headquarters as a cooling center for employees and their household who were without power.
About NRG
NRG Energy is a leading energy and home services company powered by people and our passion for a smarter, cleaner, and more connected future. A Fortune 500 company operating in the United States and Canada, NRG delivers innovative solutions that help people, organizations, and businesses achieve their goals while also advocating for competitive energy markets and customer choice. More information is available at www.nrg.com. Connect with NRG on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X.
