Customer Participation Workshop March, 2014
Elberton Utilities and ElbertonNET has about
6,100 individual accounts
All accounts are billed monthly
Metered utility services are billed in arrears All services are billed on one bill:
◦ Electric Cable TV
◦ Gas Internet
◦ Water Phone
◦ Sewer Solid Waste
There are 4 billing cycles
Billed each 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th day of the
month
Meters are read once per month, either by
physical read or by radio read
Bills are due 18 days after the billing date Cutoff day is 22 days after the billing date,
Rates are set
independently
for electric,natural gas, water/sewer, and ElbertonNET
Each utility is set differently
Rates are not affected by street lights or
Christmas lights
Rates are not changed based on the weather Rates are set for long term budget, usually no
ELECTRIC
◦ Four rate tables # of Customers
Residential 3,400
Small Commercial 800 Large Commercial 200
Industrial 3
Residential rate is discounted $6.00 per month for
those 65 and older who sign up for discount
Residential and Small Commercial rates are different in
the winter and summer
ELECTRIC
◦ Rates do not fluctuate month-to-month
◦ Rates were adopted in April, 2013
◦ Power Cost Adjustment (PCA) is changed about
once per year and reflects the increased cost of power at the substation
◦ Rates have been affected most in the last 4 years by
the bad economy in Georgia that leads to surplus power and environmental standards changed by the EPA
NATURAL GAS
◦ Only one rate for 99% of customers (about 4,000)
◦ Some large customers have contract rates that allow
us to interrupt their service during gas supply shortages
◦ Agricultural customers have a contract rate that is
offered state-wide
◦ Price fluctuates monthly based on the cost of gas at
the well-head and pipeline
◦ City’s margin per unit sold stays the same each
WATER & SEWER
◦ There are 2 rates for water – (1) Inside city limits
and (2) Outside city limits
◦ Outside city limits is about 50% higher than inside
city limits
◦ Residential and commercial customers all pay the
same water rate
◦ 2 Tiers – UNDER 20,000 cu.ft. and OVER 20,000
cu.ft.
◦ Only about 10 customers exceed 20,000 cu.ft. per
WATER & SEWER
◦ There are 2 rates for sewer – INSIDE and OUTSIDE
◦ Water is metered, sewer is not
◦ Sewer consumption is based on water meter
consumption (85% unless customers has a separate irrigation meter, then 100%)
◦ Water and Sewer have separate rates tables
◦ Sewer bill usually ends up being 110% of the water
What is an average bill??? Very dependent on: ◦ Size of home ◦ Appliances in home ◦ Consumption pattern ◦ Weather ◦ Personal habits Summer Winter Water $25.00 $25.00 Sewer 28.00 28.00 Cable TV 46.95 46.95 Franchise fee 2.35 2.35 Internet 39.95 39.95 Phone 15.05 15.05 USF Fee 2.89 2.89 Solid Waste 13.50 13.50 Landfill 3.75 3.75 Subtotal $177.44 $177.44 Electric (1500/700) 186.25 78.00
Electric sales tax 13.04 5.46 Natural Gas 10.00 175.00 Gas sales tax 0.70 12.25 Total $387.43 $448.15
Cost per day
(Summer) - $12.91
Cost per day
(Winter) - $14.94 Summer Winter Water $25.00 $25.00 Sewer 28.00 28.00 Cable TV 46.95 46.95 Franchise fee 2.35 2.35 Internet 39.95 39.95 Phone 15.05 15.05 USF Fee 2.89 2.89 Solid Waste 13.50 13.50 Landfill 3.75 3.75 Subtotal $177.44 $177.44 Electric (1500/700) 186.25 78.00
Electric sales tax 13.04 5.46 Natural Gas 10.00 175.00 Gas sales tax 0.70 12.25 Total $387.43 $448.15
Mayor and Council – set rates and fees, establish
ordinances for administration and provision of services
City Manager – sets policies and procedures to comply with ordinances; delegates authority to Customer
The City is considered a “creditor” under
various federal laws because it bills for services in arrears
Have to comply with Dodd-Frank Act and
various Credit and Privacy laws that also
apply to banks, credit card companies, etc.
Cannot discuss the account with anyone
other than the account holder (includes elected officials)
Elected officials may not override existing
ordinances, change billing amounts, issue credits, or authorize extensions
Elected officials may not ask or direct
employees to disclose information about account holders
Elected officials may not direct employees to
Two category of deposits, based on risk
◦ (1) Homeowners and (2) Renters
◦ Renter deposits are higher because there is no
collateral to attach to other than the deposit, and the typical lease is only 12 months
Three levels of deposits, based on credit
score – Low, Medium, and High
HIGH deposit results in 2 months average bill
Deposits are set by Ordinance 2 factors
◦ Customer specific information (renter, homeowner,
good or bad credit, payment history)
◦ Location specific information (only applies with
HIGH risk credit scores)
Customer service does not have the authority
to decide or set deposits outside of the established deposit policy
Customer service can approve a payment plan
We must collect payment timely in order to
pay our costs of electricity, natural gas,
treatment of sewage, production of water, programming expense for cable TV, internet access, debt payments
We are required to pay our invoices on 15-28
days
Impossible to finance customer accounts and
meet our payment deadlines without prompt collection
10% late charge applied to metered utility
services and cable TV if not paid by 18 day deadline
Was 10 days, but was extended few years ago We
will
accept short payments, and thenpenalty only applies to amount outstanding after 18 days
Extensions are granted but service charges
do apply
Service charges are waived or lowered if
customer can pay any part of the bill
For high bills – pay what you normally pay to
avoid costly fees and penalties
We can only work with people who try to keep
their account in good standing through payments
Cannot grant extensions on the day of cutoff
(Tuesday)
Cannot give extensions on payment plans,
prior agreements, or deposits
Cannot give extensions on extensions All extensions are done in writing and in
person (not by telephone)
We
will
accept short-payments, but that doesnot automatically avoid cutoff
Utility bills are a monthly expense…we must
Cutoff is released each Tuesday, depending
on original billing date
All accounts are released for cutoff at the
same time (due by 9:00 a.m.)
Service charge for non-payment is due and
payable regardless of whether the services were actually disconnected
Service charge based on number of services -
The reason for service charges is that
extensions and the cutoff process is very expensive
Staff would be very small if all customers paid
on time
Therefore, the customers who generate the
expense for non-standard services should pay the cost of those services
among other local providers of similar services
Elberton Utilities is among the low cost
providers for the services it offers in our area of Georgia
ElbertonNET offers tremendous value for
telecom services
Lucky to have public utilities
◦ Rates are set locally
◦ Decisions are made locally
◦ Zero profit margin – everything is reinvested in the
community who owns the systems
Comparable providers are Georgia Power and
Hart EMC
Elberton is about 3% less than Hart EMC for
Residential (Summer)
Georgia Power is 15%-20% higher than
Elberton for Residential (Summer)
Elberton’s Large Commercial and Industrial
rates are tremendously lower than Ga. Power and Hart EMC, sometimes as much as 30% lower!
Elberton Hart EMC Georgia Power
1,000 kWh $126.25 $131.55 $133.47 2,000 kWh 246.25 254.10 287.24 3,000 kWh 366.25 376.65 441.00
Difference from Elberton Hart EMC Georgia Power
1,000 kWh $5.30 $ 7.22
2,000 kWh 7.85 40.99
3,000 kWh 10.40 74.75
$0.00 $10.00 $20.00 $30.00 $40.00 $50.00 $60.00 $70.00 $80.00 Hart well Elb erto n R oy ston Bowman C orn elia T oc coa A th en s/ C lar ke Gain es ville C om m erc e Li nc oln ton O co ne eC ou nt y Was hin gto n Hart C ou nty Li nc oln C ou nty
Phone service is only $15.05 (after discounts)
when bundled with Internet or TV
◦ Includes all features such as caller ID and voice
mail, and includes U.S. long distance
◦ Can be as much as 75% less than AT&T for similar
service
Internet is $11.00 cheaper per month when
The best way to influence your utility bill is
through maintenance of your home and appliances
Be mindful of your activities (thermostats, hot
water settings, washing clothes in cold water, get rid of inefficient appliances, repairing
leaks)
Conservation
If you work away from home, use
Offer to homeowners and electric customers Can finance up to $5,000 for up to 60
months at 1% interest
Monthly payment is placed on utility bill Eligible activities:
◦ New heating & air units
◦ Weatherization and insulation
For electric customers, may enroll in the
program each May and November
For non-electric customers, can only enroll in
May
Billing is based on previous 12 months actual
usage, multiplied by current rates, plus 10%
Any balance due or balance owed at the end
of 12 months is added to the next 12 months’ calculation
These Utility Systems are the community’s
greatest physical asset
Must be renewed and rehabilitated to
maintain today’s quality of service
Customer Participation Workshop April, 2013
