BATON ROUGE mdash; The embattled Delta Utilities natural gas service has launched a customer assistance program after receiving scores, if not hundreds, of complaints about increasing bills.The DU Cares program announced Wednesday is intended to provide short-term financial relief for natural gas c ustomers. Delta Utilities last year acquired customers previously served by Entergy, and many of them reached out to WBRZ after the weather turned cold to complain that they were not prepared for higher bills.To apply for assistance, customers can call 833-335-8299 or visit company offices in Bogalusa, Covington or New Orleans. The utility said it will also have representatives at a "customer care pop-up" event Monday inside the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center at 4000 Gus Young Ave. The meeting will last from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.The aid program is funded by the Delta Utilities Foundation, while United Way of Southeast Louisiana is helping to administer it."DU Cares reflects our fundamental belief that no family should have to choose between keeping the heat on and meeting other basic needs," CEO Tim Pocheacute; said in a statement.Under the program, customers can seek up to $250 in direct utility bill assistance once a year. The utility says it will make $200,000 available in 2026.WBRZ viewers who reached out to the station sent copies of their monthly bills that showed the amount due jumped from $25-30 a month to over $100. One viewer in Bellingrath showed that her bill climbed from $25 to $179 mdash; a 616 percent increase.Entergy Louisiana spun off its natural gas operations last summer, with Delta Utilities acquiring 95,000 customers in East Baton Rouge Parish. (In New Orleans, it took over 109,000 customers.) During the transfer, Delta did not automatically keep its new customers on levelized billing, so many customers are seeing true wintertime gas bills for the first time in years.The utility's offices are at:2401 Canal St., New Orleans, 504-822-55408324 Morrison Rd., New Orleans, 504-827-6828834 N. Columbia St., Covington, 985-244-6580432 Avenue U, Bogalusa, 985-244-6588Permalink| Comments ...read more read less