The rough economy didn’t stop Iowans from being more responsible bill payers in 2009. In fact, it has actually helped them improve their bill paying habits from the even harsher 2008.

The number of past-due accounts and the average past-due amount for the 1.8 million customers of Iowa’s largest energy utilities were both down compared with the prior year, according to an Iowa Utilities Board report.

There were 209,138 past-due accounts, down 3,171 from the prior year. Still, approximately 11 percent of Iowa’s energy customers had past-due accounts.

The average past-due bill is approximately $164, down from the $183 average last year. The total of past-due accounts amounted to $34.3 million, but that was down from $38.8 million the previous year.

A review of the data for the past five years indicated that 2008 might have been the most financially difficult year for home heating customers to pay bills.

For utility customers receiving energy assistance, the number of customers with past-due balances this year was 37,474, nearly the same as last year’s 37,460. Those customers owe an average balance of $260, down from last year’s average balance of $297.