diff --git a/cloudbaseinit/plugins/windows/ntpclient.py b/cloudbaseinit/plugins/windows/ntpclient.py
index 813eaefa..41d1fa1f 100644
--- a/cloudbaseinit/plugins/windows/ntpclient.py
+++ b/cloudbaseinit/plugins/windows/ntpclient.py
@@ -33,10 +33,11 @@ CONF.register_opts(opts)
 
 LOG = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
+_W32TIME_SERVICE = "w32time"
+
 
 class NTPClientPlugin(base.BasePlugin):
     def _check_w32time_svc_status(self, osutils):
-        _W32TIME_SERVICE = "w32time"
 
         svc_start_mode = osutils.get_service_start_mode(
             _W32TIME_SERVICE)