NAPLES -- Ave Maria Utility Company, the provider of water and utilities services to the residents of Ave Maria, Florida, announces temporary reduced rates to ease potential higher than normal utilities bills during the stay-at-home order for COVID-19. According to an Ave Maria Utility statement to its residential customers, “The Utility will be allowed to forgo utilization of all upper tiers of residential water usage rates for the next two months.” The request was approved by the Collier County Water and Wastewater Authority. Ave Maria Utility will reevaluate the situation after two months.

“During the COVID-19 crisis, potable water usage volumes have been skyrocketing with more people being home all day, every day. As such, many of our customers will be pushed up into upper tiers of the rate structure and their bills will be much higher than normal during this time. AMUC would like to temporarily suspend the tiered rate structure and bill everyone at the Tier 1 rate no matter what the volume of usage,” states David Genson, Director of AMUC. “We have instituted the rate relief indefinitely as we continue to monitor the pandemic and the stay-at-home order.”

Ave Maria Utility Company, founded in 2004, provides services to more than 2,500 accounts. Services include water treatment and distribution, wastewater collection and treatment and reuse irrigation.