Budget Billing
Predictable payments, less stress! Enjoy peace of mind with Budget Billing.
What is Budget Billing?
Budget Billing is a financial plan that lets you pay a consistent amount each month based on your past energy use. This helps you avoid seasonal fluctuations and surprises on your bill, by spreading your energy costs evenly throughout the year. At the end of 12 months, we’ll compare your charges to your actual usage and balance your account (a “true-up”).
How do we calculate your monthly payment amount?
Your monthly payment is calculated based on the last 12 months of energy use. If you’ve lived at your property for less than a year, we’ll use the previous year’s usage for that location. In this case, your actual charges (based on your energy use) may be very different than your budget billed, which may result in larger variations during your budget reviews and true-up.
Will my budget amount stay the same for 12 months?
Your plan starts with your next bill after enrollment using the amount we provide during enrollment. To help prevent a large true-up, we review your account periodically and inform you of the new monthly payment.
What happens on my 12th bill? Do I need to re-enroll?
At the end of 12 months, we balance (or true-up) your account, applying the difference between your budgets billed and actual charges. You may have a debit included on your 12th bill or a credit applied to that and future bills.
And remember: re-enrollment happens automatically after we review your account! You’ll see your new budget amount in your bill messages and we’ll also send you an email with the information.
How to enroll?
Log in to your account, go to ‘Manage My Preferences’ and enroll.
Prefer to call? Use our self-service line at 800.600.2275, option #2 for Billing and Payments — available 24/7! Or call our customer service team at 800.572.1111, Monday–Friday, 7 a.m.–7 p.m.
What else do I need to know?
Each bill includes a Budget Billing Summary that shows your plan’s end month, current installment, actual charges and the difference between actual and budgeted amounts. You can also view this information on your dashboard after logging in.
You can increase your payment at any time online. To make additional payments toward your balance or for other questions, call us at 800.572.1111, Monday–Friday, 7 a.m.–7 p.m.
If you’re enrolled in EAP, you may be automatically enrolled in Budget Billing. If you’re on a payment arrangement, you can also enroll in Budget Billing—we encourage it!
Your Budget Billing plan automatically renews every year unless you de-enroll. We’ll review your account and you can view the details in your Budget Billing Summary.
Frequently asked questions
No, your energy costs are the same whether you use Budget Billing or not. While it doesn’t save money, Budget Billing helps you avoid seasonal spikes by spreading costs evenly over the year.
Online: Before you complete the enrollment process, we’ll show you your monthly payment amount.
Call Center: Our agent will inform you of your monthly payment amount.
Note: To avoid a large true-up at the end of 12 months, we review your monthly payments regularly. If you’ve lived at the property for less than 12 months, we’ll use the location’s previous energy usage to calculate your budget, which may result in larger variations during your review.
Most customers are eligible to enroll in Budget Billing and all EAP participants are automatically enrolled. To check your eligibility, log in and navigate to ‘Manage My Preferences.’ If your account is eligible, you’ll see the ‘Budget Billing’ option.
Please note that if you’ve lived at the property for less than 12 months, we’ll use the location’s previous energy usage to calculate your budget, which may result in larger variations during your review.
The new amount will take effect on your next bill. You’ll also start seeing a Budget Billing Summary on your bill and on your dashboard after logging in.
All your bills from now on will include a Budget Billing Summary with:
- Plan start and end dates - Keep in mind that the plan auto-renews unless you choose to cancel.
- Actual charges since start – How much you would have paid if you were not enrolled in Budget Billing.
- Budget billed since start – The total amount you have been billed since starting your current Budget Billing plan, including the current billing cycle’s debit.
- Budget Balance (True-Up) – The difference between your actual charges and the amount billed under Budget Billing. If you cancel or reach your plan’s end date, this is the amount you’ll either owe or receive as a credit.
You can always check it online or on your bill. Here is an example:
No. If you are a dual-energy customer, once you’re enrolled, you’ll be enrolled in Budget Billing for both your electricity and natural gas bills.
Yes. We’ll send you an email with any changes before the next billing cycle. Please make sure your email address is up to date by logging in and going to ‘Personal Details’.
To avoid a large Budget Billing true-up (credit or debit) at the end of your 12-month enrollment, we review and adjust your monthly budget amount periodically, if needed.
You will be informed of any changes and you can track what you’ve been charged in your Budget Billing Summary. You can also track your energy use down to the hour with Energy Manager and learn what you can do to keep it as low as possible.
Yes, but you must call us after making your extra payment. Without speaking to a representative, extra payments will be applied to current or future charges and may not reduce your budget balance.
Yes. To explore our assistance programs, go to Help with Bill. To check out the efficiency programs and rebates we’ve prepared for you, visit Residential Programs and Rebates. We also offer efficiency programs and rebates for business customers.
Log in to your account, go to ‘Manage My Preferences,’ and select ‘End Budget Billing.’ You can cancel at any time. Your cancellation will take effect on your next bill and any credit or balance in your Budget Balance will be reflected there. If you have a credit that exceeds your next bill’s charges, we’ll apply the remaining amount to your following bills.
Remember: Re-enrollment is automatic every year unless you cancel it.
Want to learn more about how weather affects your bill?
Check out Energy Manager or visit our Winter or Summer Energy Tips pages.