Serving Kansas City (Wyandotte County) Kansas for over 50 years!
The administrative offices of the Kansas City, Kansas, Board of Public Utilities will be closed on Monday, Sept. 5, in observance of Labor Day.
Although BPU’s business offices are closed on holidays, emergency service is available seven days a week, 24 hours a day.
For power emergencies, customers should call 913-573-9522. The water emergency number is 913-573-9622.
The Kansas City, Kansas, Board of Public Utilities is warning customers about utility scams.
Scammers are using a new tactic, according to reports from some BPU customers.
Callers, fraudulently claiming to be BPU representatives, are telling customers they have been overcharged on their electric bill and are owed a credit, according to a BPU spokesman.
An individual on the call asks for credit card information to apply a refund, according to the BPU spokesman. The calls are not from the BPU, the spokesman stated.
In most cases, the caller claims to be a BPU customer service representative to get the customer to provide credit card information or other personal information, telling the customer a check has bounced or he or she has a past-due bill.
According to BPU representatives, multiple reports have been made about calls stating if payment is not made, services will be shut off within 30 minutes. The caller claims to represent a local utility and sometimes uses caller ID spoofing to convince victims the call is from a real customer service number.
Imposters often will ask customers to use a pre-paid card for payment. BPU will never ask a customer to purchase a pre-paid debit card, or any form of cryptocurrency, to pay for service, the spokesman stated.
BPU never asks for payment over the phone or threatens to disconnect utilities due to nonpayment, the spokesman stated. Customers who suspect they are being targeted by a scam need to hang up and call the BPU customer service department at 913-573-9190. If they feel they have been the victim of a scam, work with local law enforcement to report the crime.
Although BPU sometimes uses pre-recorded messages to notify customers about future dates for possible disconnection, they do not cold-call customers to demand immediate payment, the spokesman stated.
BPU offered these tips for customers to protect themselves if they are unsure about a call, email or visit from a utility representative:
• Never give credit or debit card, Social Security, ATM, checking or savings account numbers to anyone who comes to your door, calls, texts or sends an email asking for information regarding your utility bill. Verify the request is authentic by asking to see company identification or calling the BPU customer service department.
• Be suspicious if you receive an email regarding your utility bill if you have not requested online communications from BPU.
• Never provide personal information via email or click any suspicious links or attachments.
BPU said electric customers have been targeted by scammers using a variety of scam attempts for a number of years in several states besides Kansas, including Nebraska, Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Texas, Wisconsin and New Mexico.
The Kansas City, Kansas, Board of Public Utilities will receive a $2 million grant for construction of a new electrical distribution feeder in support of a new business under development, according to an announcement from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo announced recently that the department’s Economic Development Administration is investing to construct infrastructure needed to support new business development in Kansas. The grants are funded by the American Rescue Plan.
The EDA grant will be matched by $746,411 in local funds and is expected to create 936 jobs and generate $216 million in private investments, according to estimates.
“The Economic Development Administration is dedicated to working with communities to support their locally-driven strategies to recover and rebuild from the pandemic,” Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Alejandra Y. Castillo said.
“These investments will create hundreds of jobs, grow our economy, and give Kansas businesses more of the tools they need to grow and succeed,” Gov. Laura Kelly said.
“One of my top priorities over the past two years has been to make sure Kansans have the resources needed to get back to work, support their families, and contribute to our ever-growing local economy,” U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, D-3rd Dist., said. “This EDA funding I helped bring to our state through the American Rescue Plan will do just that, while also supporting our water and electrical infrastructure. I will keep working to lower costs and ensure a thriving economy in the Kansas City area and across the entire state.”
The BPU investment was made possible by the regional planning efforts of the Mid-America Regional Council. EDA funds these organizations to bring together the public and private sectors to create an economic development roadmap to strengthen the regional economy, support private capital investment and create jobs, a spokesman stated.
This project is funded under EDA’s American Rescue Plan Economic Adjustment Assistance program, which makes $500 million in Economic Adjustment Assistance grants available to American communities. The Economic Adjustment Assistance program is EDA’s most flexible program, and grants made under this program will help hundreds of communities across the nation plan, build, innovate, and put people back to work through construction or non-construction projects designed to meet local needs. Effective May 26, 2022, EDA has officially closed all of its American Rescue Plan programs for applications. The $3 billion program funding will be awarded on a rolling basis through Sept. 30, 2022.