Understanding Your Electricity Bill
Some people look at their electricity bill and wonder what all of those things actually mean on there. Questions persist such as what exactly does a tariff mean and why are you being charged for it? How do they come up with what you pay in the end? Who makes sure that they don’t make you pay too much? What is a cycle?
Your electricity bill usually will include standard items such as your account number, your address, your telephone number, and your name. The company’s name and contact information will also be listed on it. You will also find other items, like an emergency service number that is designed so that you can report many things such as a downed power line, an outage, dimming, a blown transformer, trees down on lines, or any other types of things that would either endanger the public at large or cause an interruption in service. All of these things are standard on nearly every electricity bill.
You may find other information on it such as the date it was sent out, the date the billing cycle began, and the one on which it ended. Some companies also include the cooperative’s name if it is a member of one. It can also include the municipality if it is being run by a city.
If you look at your electricity bill and you see a tariff on it, this is simply the amount you paid for the power itself plus the taxes and other charges that you must pay in order to assure that you constantly have service. These other charges include the cost of employees, repair technicians and vehicles, maintenance to the lines and facility, and fuel costs that are involved with generating your power. The rate that you end up with combines all of these charges, taxes, and your actual energy consumption.
The Public Utilities Commission, or the PUC, of each state oversees the energy producers and utilities within that state. The PUC ensures that they are operating under the proper state and federal guidelines and regulations and that the rate they are charging you is fair based on all of the pertinent factors involved. If you are in a deregulated state, you can also find information about the various different power companies that are licensed for your area to provide power to your home, business, or office.
If you have a past due balance, that will be reflected on your electricity bill as well as the balance for the current billing cycle. There will be a customer service number to call if you need to make arrangements to pay installments to bring your bill current, schedule or stop service, or any other question that you may have. Your payment cycle will usually run for thirty consecutive days.
If you are on either a fixed rate plan or percentage of income plan, then this information will also be listed on your statement. You may also find that your actual usage cost is listed on this type of a plan for your reference.
For additional information on electricity bill as well as how to switch electricity companies or finding a local
power company visit us online.
Please visit us online at http://www.mxenergy.com for all your energy needs.
Author Bio: For additional information on electricity bill as well as how to switch electricity companies or finding a local
power company visit us online.
Category: Home Management
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