Apex Resumes Normal Utility Billing July 1 After 2024 Cyberattack

Apex will restart normal utility-billing operations on Wednesday, July 1, 2026, the town confirmed on Feb. 26, 2026, restoring late fees and disconnection policies that were suspended after a July 2024 cybersecurity incident disrupted the billing system. Town officials tied the July 1 target to the start of the new fiscal year.

Local fiscal pressure framed the decision: WRAL reported that around 15% of accounts make up about $6 million in utility balances older than 30 days, and Mayor Jacques Gilbert said, "Those are real dollars. Those are dollars that we need." Mayor Gilbert added, "We have operations here, and when that shortfall is there, it impacts our budget," and the town said it will work with customers who have outstanding balances on payment plans.

Public reporting offers different measures of delinquency. Terry Mahaffey wrote on his Substack that approximately 8% of customers currently have outstanding balances, compared with 3% during normal operations, and urged, "I encourage everyone in this situation (approximately 8% of our customers, compared to 3% during normal operations) to make immediate plans to get current on their utility bills." The Substack and WRAL figures appear to describe different cohorts and aging thresholds.

Available reporting notes that the two figures are not identical measures: the Substack language references "customers with outstanding balances" while the WRAL figure describes "accounts" that comprise $6 million in balances older than 30 days. The town has not published a single reconciled metric tying the 8% and 15% figures to a common definition or an aging-bucket breakdown.

The billing pause began after the July 2024 cyberattack forced Apex to rebuild key systems; during the rebuild many customers received combined two- or three-month bills, billing cycles were inconsistent, and confusion followed. A third-party review cited in local reporting later found that most customers had been underbilled, a finding the town used to justify suspending late fees and disconnections while systems were rebuilt.

Apex moved to a modern billing platform in July 2025 after a migration that had been planned before the cyberattack but was delayed by it. Terry Mahaffey characterized rollout issues as typical for "most major IT conversions." Simultaneously, the town has been replacing manually read electric and water meters with modern meters town-wide; the meter replacement program has faced integration challenges for homes with various solar configurations and is described as approaching completion.

Operationally, Town Council directed staff to begin the return to normal billing operations following a presentation to the Council, and town communications officials plan a targeted outreach push to customers with outstanding balances, with special emphasis on longer-term delinquencies. Mayor Gilbert and town staff said payment-plan options will be available for customers who need them, though specific plan terms and notice schedules have not been published.

July 1, 2026 will mark Apex's formal shift back to standard enforcement after the two-year interruption that began with the July 2024 cyberattack; the move addresses a reported $6 million shortfall while leaving open questions about the precise makeup of delinquent accounts, the detailed terms of payment plans, and the town's disconnection notice procedures.