§ 812. Metering and Billing.

1. 

Where service is rendered under rate ordinance provisions which do not require monthly demand measurements, meters may be read and bills rendered either monthly or bimonthly, at the company's option. When bills are rendered bimonthly, the minimum bill and the number of kilowatt hours included in each energy block of the rate shall be twice the amount specified for monthly billing. When the use of electricity averages over 2,000 kilowatt hours per month and the customer does not participate in the uniform monthly payment plan or the average payment plan as may be provided in certain rates, monthly billing will be used if requested by the customer.

2. 

All electricity sold by the company shall be on the basis of meter measurement, except for installations where the usage is constant and the consumption may readily be computed, or as provided for in its filed rates.

3. 

When meters are installed by the company to measure the electricity used by its customer, all charges for electricity used, except certain minimum charges, shall be calculated from the readings of such meters.

4. 

Bills shall be rendered, as nearly as practicable, for thirty-day periods when monthly and sixty-day periods when bimonthly. However, bills for less than 25 days or more than 35 days for monthly billing, and bills for less than 50 days or more than 70 days for bimonthly billing shall be prorated on the basis of the ratio of the number of days in the period to the number of days included in the standard period, which will be taken at 30 days for monthly billing and 60 days for bimonthly billing. Bills shall be due on the date rendered. In case of any dispute at the date of rendering, the postmark shall control.

5. 

Bills for special or short-term service, including charges for connection and disconnection, may be rendered at any time at the discretion of the company and will be payable upon presentation.

6. 

If service is supplied to the customer before a meter is placed in use or while the metering is defective, the customer will pay for service on a basis estimated from a period of similar use.

7. 

When an investigation discloses excessive bills due to an accidental ground on the customer's wiring or equipment, occurring without the knowledge of the customer, an allowance for a share of such wastage will be made by the company in its sole discretion.

8. 

An average payment plan (APP) is offered as a convenience to qualified customers who request this payment option. The plan is an alternative payment option. Participation in the APP does not affect the calculation of charges applied to the customer's account nor the customer's ultimate responsibility to pay for all billings rendered. To qualify, a customer must be served under the residential rate ordinance, as adopted. At the company's option, small nonprofit organizations served under the commercial rate may also qualify for this payment option. New customers may be required to pay their initial regular billing in full to be eligible for the APP. Under the APP, a customer's monthly payment amount will be calculated based on 1/12 of the last 12 months' usage and priced to include the current approved base rates, average fuel and purchased power adjustment rates and any other applicable charges. The average usage and APP payment amount will be recomputed with each metered billing. When a customer does not have 12 months' billing history, the company may, at its discretion, estimate the customer's projected annual usage. Any difference that accumulates between the calculated APP payments and the actual charges for a twelve-month period will be amortized over the next twelve-month period. At any time, the company may adjust the APP payment amount to prevent an excessive accumulated difference. APP payments are due 20 days from the billing date. If an APP customer is delinquent with two consecutive APP payments, the company shall have the option of terminating the customer's participation in the plan. When a customer's account is closed and a final bill is rendered, the total account balance will become due in 20 days. The company reserves the right to restrict the enrollment period to any thirty-day window per year. The company may market the APP service under a variety of names, including "budget billing."

Ord. 1211, 9/2/2015