Eligible customers can minimize the impact of higher heating costs in the winter by enrolling in our Level Budget Plan. This plan will spread out payments over a 12-month period. For more details read below. To enroll, contact your District Office.
Revised December, 2008
1. Plan Availability: An eligible Customer may enroll in the Plan, at any time without a down payment or additional deposit (a security deposit is unrelated to the Plan and will NOT be eliminated by enrollment in the Plan), by contacting the District Office in their service area. The District Office will provide the Customer with an enrollment form showing the initial monthly payment, requesting its execution and return to the District Office. The Customer will be enrolled in the Plan the next Billing Cycle after the Company’s receipt of the completed enrollment form. It is not necessary for the Customer to visit the applicable District Office to apply for the Plan.
2. Eligible Customer: An eligible Customer is defined to include currently paid accounts that are classified as residential; small commercial (meter size less than 800 scfh), including small farming operations (except for grain drying); public authority, including school corporations; and not-for-profit institutions, including churches.
3. Monthly Payment: The Monthly Payment, under the Plan, will be determined as follows:
For existing accounts with a twelve-month usage history: The Monthly Payment will be determined by weather normalizing the past twelve months’ usage for the account and pricing this adjusted usage level on the estimated rates believed to be in effect during the succeeding twelve months.
For new accounts or where there is not an existing twelve-month usage history: The Monthly Payment will be determined by establishing a weather normalization usage level for a twelve-month period and pricing this usage level on the estimated rates believed to be in effect during the succeeding twelve months. We will utilize connected load and other load characteristics to determine the estimated annual usage level to weather normalize.
4. Semi-Annual Review of Monthly Payment: Upon completion of the June and December Billing Cycles, which occurs at the end of the month, the Monthly Payment will be reviewed and adjusted, as needed, to reflect the proper Monthly Payment for the succeeding six months (July through December; January through June). The newly calculated Monthly Payment will become effective with the July and January Billing Cycles. If the review determines that no change is necessary, then the existing Monthly Payment will be used for the succeeding six months.
5. Annual “True-Up” Upon completion of the June Billing cycle, an analysis will be made of the Plan account balance with the assumptions that the June Billing Cycle Monthly Payment will be paid.
If the Plan account balance is a debit (the Customer owes the Company money) or a credit (the Company owes the Customer money): The balance will be spread over the succeeding twelve months and will be reflected in the revised Monthly Payment, accordingly.
6. Customer Notices: The Customer is notified, by mail, prior to the July Billing Cycle advising of the revised Monthly Payment for the succeeding twelve months. In addition, the Customer is advised as to how the balance was applied to their account. If a semi-annual adjustment to the Monthly Payment is required after the December Billing Cycle, the Customer will be notified by mail, prior to the January Billing Cycle, of the revised Monthly Payment for the succeeding six months.
7. Failure to Make Plan Monthly Payment Prior to Due Date: If the Customer fails to make their Monthly Payment on or before the due date, as printed on the natural gas bill, the Customer can be removed from the Plan after the second late payment within a twelve-month period. Any debit balance will be immediately due and payable in full. Any credit balance will be credited to the Customer’s account and will be applied against their future natural gas bills. Any payment made after the due date is subject to a Late-Payment Charge.
8. Questions: The Customer should contact the applicable District Office at the telephone number shown on the monthly natural gas bill for answers to the Customer’s questions about the Plan.
Download PDF version of Budget (Level) Payment Plan (use Acrobat Reader to view PDF files)