Representatives from Rocky Mount are headed to a conference at a luxury hotel in Virginia as hundreds of residents remain without power.
Employees with the ElectriCities conference, being held at the Omni Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, Virginia, confirmed to WRAL that representatives from the city government are scheduled to attend.
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WRAL asked city leaders who from the government will attend and what they hope to learn that could help address the situation residents are facing.
Nearly 200 customers in Rocky Mount are without power as WRAL meteorologists forecast highs in the mid-90s this week, with heat index values about 10 degrees higher.
Fatimah Jones is concerned about neighbors whose power has been disconnected and who did not enter into a payment plan beforehand. Those customers now have to pay their balances in full.
"I think that there should definitely be someone that comes and sets things right. I feel like the residents were set up. I feel like they were set up to fail," Jones said.
City Assistant Manager C.J. Jordan said the city has made more than 1,580 payment arrangements with customers since disconnections began July 20. However, he acknowledged that some customers are having difficulty reaching customer service.
"The City recognizes that customers may experience longer-than-normal wait times during peak call periods as customer activity increases around billing, payment arrangements, and utility account management," Jordan said in an email.
Last month, the state auditor's office released an audit addressing Rocky Mount's utility billing issues.
WRAL asked Jordan about the city's progress in responding to the audit's recommendations, including correcting utility meter-reading and billing schedules, working with a billing-system vendor and resolving delinquent accounts belonging to councilmembers T.J. Walker and Charles "Verb" Roberson, which together totaled more than $30,000.
The city did not respond to questions about its progress in meeting those recommendations.
Councilmember T.J. Walker told WRAL he has paid off his $4,190.12 balance and is no longer delinquent on his account.
Jones wonders what residents who cannot afford to pay their bills will do as temperatures rise.
"How do you feel if it's your family members?" Jones said. "If it's your friends? If it's someone that you know, like compassion. We're going through enough in this world."
The city also did not respond to questions about who will attend the conference or what officials expect to learn there that could help address the utility issues.
Editor's note: A previous version of the story said WRAL News had not heard from Roberson when WRAL reported he and Walker paid off their utility bills last month.