Global IT outage impacts Amarillo's in-person utility billing system
The city of Amarillo announced that its in-person utility billing operation was among systems impacted by Friday's massive global IT disruption.
Due to the IT outage, the Amarillo Utility Billing Department is currently not able to process in-person payments for water bills, according to a city news release. The city said customers are still able to pay by phone or through the online portal – PayAMA. The night drop-box at City Hall is also available.
The PayAMA site is www.amarillo.gov/departments/utility-billing/pay . The PayAMA site also includes at live chat option, which is also available, the city said.
The city's Utility Billing Department can be reached by phone at (806) 378-3030 or by email at waterbill@amarillo.gov
“The Utility Billing Department will work with customers during this global IT outage to address any issues,” said city Utility Billing Manager Jennifer Gonzalez. “Customers are welcome to contact us with any questions or if any additional information is needed.”
According to USA TODAY, flights, public transit systems and operations at banks and hospitals across the world were among systems affected by Friday's IT incident, which a cybersecurity firm blamed on a faulty update. The U.S. firm, CrowdStrike, said one of its recent content updates had a defect that impacted Microsoft's Windows Operating System, adding the incident was "not a security incident or cyberattack."
The outage also led to Driver License Offices being closed across the state of Texas on Friday, the Texas Department of Public Safety said.
Banks impacted by the outage included Bank of America, Capital One, Chase and Wells Fargo, according to the Austin American-Statesman, citing monitoring app Downdetector.
A handful of Friday's flights listed on the Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport website said they were delayed, with four arrivals and two departures showing schedule changes as of 12:30 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Global IT outage impacts Amarillo's utility billing system
