Peco customers haven’t been able to access their online accounts for a week. The company doesn’t know when they’ll be able to.

Peco customers have been unable to log in to their online accounts or reach customer service representatives by phone for a week now as the company changes its billing system.

As a result, some customers say they have been left anxious about late fees, worried about cash-flow issues, and frustrated by the inability to get through to a human at the company to answer specific questions or assuage concerns.

Peco said late fees will not be assessed during this time, service won’t be shut off, and electric and natural gas emergency reporting remains available 24/7.

“We are aware that access to customer information through our website and mobile app is not currently available, and we are working to quickly correct this situation that occurred during our conversion to a new billing system,” spokesperson Tom Brubaker said Tuesday in a statement. “We currently do not have an estimated time for when the conversion will be complete, and our team is continuing to work around the clock.”

Peco customers can find up-to-date information on system accessibility online at peco.com/NewBill or by calling 800-494-4000.

Since 7 p.m. Feb. 14, online bill-pay services have been unavailable (with the exception of auto-pay), and customers have been unable to stop, start, or move their service, something that is typically quick and relatively easy to do online or over the phone. In West Norriton, Dana Smith, 28, said she and her boyfriend were forced to delay a move, originally scheduled for last Thursday, because they could not set up Peco service at their new rental in West Chester.

“It has been such a mess,” said Smith, who last week took two days off from her financial recovery job for the move. She and her boyfriend have shelled out nearly $2,000 rent for their first month at the new place, plus a pet deposit and other fees. But because they couldn’t transfer their Peco service, “we haven’t been able to live in the house that we’ve paid for since the 15th.”

Brubaker said starting, stopping, or moving service “typically takes several days,” and Peco employees “continue to work on the requests received prior to system conversion.”

Peco’s online maintenance had been scheduled in advance, with the company spreading the word about forthcoming account-number changes since at least November. But some customers said they never received direct communication from Peco that indicated they’d lose account access for several days.

“We got a glossy, thick cardstock flier from Peco saying our account number was going to change, but it didn’t say anything about not being able to access” it or move service, Smith said.

Emails that customer Sarah Martin, 43, received “never said that the website was going to be down or that the app wasn’t going to work,” the Downingtown stay-at-home mom said. “Had I known, I probably would’ve tried to pay the bill earlier.”

Peco sent customers multiple emails and other notices in recent weeks telling them that their 10-digit account numbers were going to change in early 2024 with the implementation of a new billing system. But those emails, reviewed by The Inquirer, did not mention that customers would temporarily lose access to their online accounts and be unable to pay bills or make other service changes for nearly a week.

“Customers visiting our website, mobile app, and calling our telephone number received messages regarding our system being temporarily unavailable,” said Brubaker, the Peco spokesperson. He also noted that all postcards, emails, bill inserts, and newsletter notices sent to customers prompted them to go to the company’s online FAQ page for more information. There, by clicking on the first question in a drop-down menu, customers could read that the switch “will require our systems to be down beginning Wednesday, Feb. 14, at 7 p.m.” As of Tuesday morning, the section also included ETAs for service restoration, which were deleted by early Tuesday afternoon.

“Access to customer data and online self-service tools will be available through our website and mobile app starting Tuesday, February 20 at 7 a.m.,” the company had written, according to a screenshot of the page. “Customer service representatives will be available to take billing calls starting Wednesday, Feb. 21 at 7 a.m.”

Sometime around midday Tuesday, those two sentences were deleted. The company replaced them with text highlighted in bright yellow: “Please visit this site for the most current information on when access will become available.”

As for why the system replacement was necessary in the first place, Brubaker said it will “improve customer service” going forward. Peco serves more than 1.2 million residential electric and gas customers in Philadelphia and its suburbs, as well as business customers.

“Our new system will provide more efficient and timely handling of customer inquiries,” Brubaker said, “and expand our ability to offer self-serve options in the future.”

In Wynnewood, Hani Reuveni, 39, said Tuesday that she had been trying to pay a $580 electric and gas bill online and over the phone for six days. Her bill was due on the 18, but she usually pays on the 15 for cash-flow reasons.

“It’s pretty annoying,” said Reuveni, program director for Friends of Israel Scouts. “I understand that they’re changing the system, but there still should be the option to pay your bill when it’s due. … There are other bills coming up.”

Her frustration was shared by fellow customers Wednesday, with some expressing their anxiety in community Facebook groups or in casual conversations with friends and relatives. Smith, who had to delay her move, said she had heard from a cousin who was anxious that his service would be shut off altogether because his bill was now past due.

Smith said she was worried about customers who have medical needs that require electricity. If they were in her situation with a move scheduled, she wondered, what would they do? While consumers have gotten used to temporarily losing access to various accounts for online system maintenance from time to time, she said she was perplexed by the fact that a utility could be so inaccessible to customers for several days.

“I’ve worked in health care and insurance and even nonemergency positions, and we’ve never shut down for more than 24 hours,” Smith said. “It just baffles me.”