What is budget billing?
It is a program designed to level out the fluctuations in your monthly electric bills. You pay the average of your past year of usage, easing the burden in the hot summers and cold winters when usage (and bills!) is typically higher. To ease the burden around Christmas time, we use an 11-month average in hopes of giving you a credit when we "catch up" in December before starting your budget billing over again in January.
For example, if the total you paid in electric bills last year was $2,000, we would divide that by 11 months to make your monthly budget bill payment $182. Instead of paying $216 worth of usage when it's hot in the summer, you would pay $182. When it's nice in the spring and your usage bill is only $132, you still pay $182.
If you like to make out your monthly budget ahead of time, budget billing can help you easily keep track of what you owe each month on your electric bill. Instead of playing the guessing game each month, you will know what to expect. Your bill will also show you where you stand with your actual usage so you can see if you have a credit or are falling behind. Typically in late summer, we will review your budget amount to make sure it is on track to be even or ahead at the end of the year.
Once you receive your December 2023 bill, you can contact our office to be set up on budget billing if you are interested. If you decide mid-year that budget billing is not for you, you can sign a removal form to be taken off of budget billing. You would then be ineligible for budget billing for a 12-month period if you wished to sign up again in the future. Other requirements include paying your bill on time each month, as you are subject to removal from the program for late payments.
Below is a sample budget bill. Contact us at (618) 842-2196 in December for more information.
