Utilities Assisting Consumers Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

The fear of the novel coronavirus is gripping the whole world and adversely impacting the global economy. The pandemic continues to spread, with the total count of infected people reaching 220,206, out of which 8,982 people have lost their lives. Amid this situation, Utilities across the United States are operating relentlessly to provide 24X7 essential services, including electricity, water and natural gas, to millions of customers across the United States.

With the rising social awareness among the people, millions are going for self-quarantine, preferring to work from home and maintaining social distancing to stop the spread of this contagious virus. With more people preferring to stay indoors, residential demand for utility services is expected to move up during this period.

Utilities are tirelessly providing services to the customers and some utilities have taken a step further and ensured the continuation of services even in the event of non-payment of utility dues. Utility operators are extending their services so that people can focus on what is required to ward off the spread of this virus rather than feeling anxious about losing utility services during this critical scenario.

The Central Bank’s decision to further lower the interest level will surely benefit the capital intensive utility operators as they will be able to get funds at lower rates than before and use them to expand their generation capacity and infrastructure.

Utilities like Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Corporation (NYSE:D) , Dominion Energy (NYSE:D) , National Grid (NYSE:NGG) , and Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) , among others, have already decided to continue services for customers who are facing payment difficulties related to the coronavirus (COVID -19) outbreak. Duke Energy currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and the others carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Although utilities, like other sectors, continue to witness the economic stress concerning the novel coronavirus, more companies are expected to come forward and voluntarily pledge to provide services even during non-payment.

Three Months Price Performance

Shares of all aforementioned stocks have outperformed the industry in the past three months.

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