Signing up for Budget Billing

Budget Billing is an option which smoothes out the natural fluctuations in electricity bills over a one year period. It is available to all residential customers, temporary residential customers, and commercial customers whose average demand reading for the year is 10KVA or less.

The customer’s total monthly electricity charges for the prior year will be divided by twelve to give an average monthly bill and that’s the amount the customer will pay each month.

The meter will still be read monthly and at the beginning of the next year the actual electricity charges will be recalculated to come up with a new monthly average.

To apply for budget billing, customers must visit one of the Customer Service representatives located at the company’s headquarters.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is budget billing?
Budget Billing is an option which smoothens out the natural fluctuations in electricity bills over a one-year period. It is available to all residential customers, temporary residential customers, and commercial customers whose average demand reading for the year is 10KVA or less.

The customer’s total monthly electricity charges for the prior year will be divided by twelve to give an average monthly bill and that’s the amount the customer will pay each month.

The meter will still be read monthly and at the beginning of the next year the actual electricity charges will be recalculated to come up with a new monthly average.

To apply for budget billing customers must visit one of the Customer Service representatives located at the company’s headquarters.

What’s the advantage of budget billing?
Customers are better able to plan their energy payments. Customers will be able to smooth out the variations in bills and avoid higher energy costs in the summertime by spreading those bills over the entire year.

Who is eligible to participate in the program?
Residential customers, temporary residential customers, and commercial customers whose average demand reading for the year is 10KVA or less are eligible for budget billing. Note that customers must have a history of 12 months of energy usage.

How do you decide on the right monthly amount for me? What if, at the end of the year, I have used more power that I paid for and have an outstanding balance to pay?
We hope that most budget billing customers will be close to a zero balance at the end of the year. But for those who have an outstanding balance to pay, that amount will be spread over the following 12 months so that the balance is not due all at once at the beginning of the year.

Can I opt out of budget billing?
Yes, you can opt out by completing the Opt Out form available from Customer Service.

What happens when I opt out?
Customers opting out of budget billing will need to pay any payment shortfall immediately to avoid disconnection. Customers opting out can choose to enter into a payment arrangement based on our normal terms of 50% of the arrears and payment over three months.

Can I get a credit balance refund if I have overpaid and the year is not yet over?
No. If you request a credit balance refund we assume you are opting out or budget billing and will automatically discontinue this service. If by the end of the year you have paid for more power than you consumed, your overpayment (credit balance) will be paid out to you at the beginning of the next year.

What If I move to a new location?
Your budgeted amount or monthly payment amount will remain the same. We will use the average of the previous location’s bills.

What if I have a payment arrangement and want to go to budget billing?
Your arrangement amount will be automatically included in the budget billing amount for the current year.

Can I enter into a payment arrangement if I am on budget billing?
No. Budget billing is already a type of payment arrangement.

Will I be charged interest on budgeted amount not paid even if I have a credit balance?
Yes. Any budgeted amount not paid after 60 days will be subject to interest.