High bills bringing out scammers in MTEMC service territory

Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation officials are warning members about some scam phone calls where fraudulent callers are posing as employees of Middle Tennessee Electric, contacting members, and claiming their account is past due and subject to cutoff.

"A number of our members have called us because they have received a call from scammers posing as MTEMC employees and threatening to disconnect their power," said MTEMC Communications Coordinator Josh Clendenen. "Higher than average bills this time of year is what we believe is driving these scammers to begin calling again."

MTEMC would like members to know if they are unsure if a caller is from the cooperative, they should hang up and contact the cooperative. In the event a member's account is past due, they would receive an automated phone call notifying them of the past due nature of their account. MTEMC employees will never ask for their account or payment information unless the member initiates the call.

Also, MTEMC will never show up at a member's home or business and ask to collect payment. If someone claiming to be an MTEMC employee asks for payment at your home or business, please contact the authorities immediately.

Bill payment methods at MTEMC include bank draft, online bill pay, pay by phone at 1-877-777-9020, pay by mail and pay in person during regular business hours.

"If you receive a high bill or you're worried about your power being disconnected, please call us," said Clendenen. "We want to work with you as much as we can, but we aren't able to do that if you don't reach out to us. Don't get caught in one of these scams because you're unsure about your bill."

Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation is a member-owned, not-for-profit cooperative providing electricity to more than 220,000 residential and business members in Williamson, Wilson, Rutherford and Cannon counties.