LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has wiped the utility debt for 280,000 Angelinos, the agency announced Wednesday.

More than half of the utility’s customers received a direct credit on their bills between Jan. 15 and March 15.

“No customer should be afraid of their utility or their utility bill,” LADWP General Manager Marty Adams said at a City Hall event attended by LA Mayor Eric Garcetti, City Council President Nury Martinez, and other city and state officials.

The debt relief is part of a public awareness campaign called Help Is on the Way, which distributed almost $300 million in federal and state funds for the program. Another $15 million of the utility’s own funds will be used in the coming months to help customers pay off sewer charges.

“Our goal is to provide the assistance and flexibility to ensure that every customer can manage their water and power bill better and access assistance when they need it,” said LADWP Board President Cynthia McClain-Hill.

LADWP runs a program called EZ-Save that allows its customers to defer payments for up to four years. The utility is also working to connect customers to eviction relief programs through a dedicated web portal.

Two years ago, at the beginning of a pandemic that recently passed the 700-day mark, LA suspended service disconnections for customers who had lost jobs and could no longer pay for their water and power. That moratorium on shutoffs lasts through the end of this month.