CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state Public Service Commission wants to remind customers that the high electric bills they may be paying this winter season are based on usage.
Susan Small, communications director for the PSC, said there has not been a rate increase given to any of the four major electric companies in West Virginia in the past year. That includes: Appalachian Power Company, Wheeling Power Company, Monongahela Power and Potomac Edison.
“Increases in bills are due to the fact that people are using more electricity,” Small told MetroNews.
Power bills have increased due to the cold temperatures, Small said.
“Last December and this January are much colder than December 2016 and January 2017, so that alone would result in more electricity being used in the homes,” she said.
If customers receive a bill they believe is inaccurate, Small said they should first contact their electric company. She said the PSC cannot activate a complaint unless a person has already talked to their electric company.
The PSC provided a few suggestions that can determine if the bill is accurate:
- Check the reading on your meter and compare it to the ending reading on the recent bill. The reading on the meter should be higher than the reading on the current bill.
- If the bill appears to accurately reflect the usage, the customer can conduct a “breaker box test” by turning off everything in the breaker box. Once all breakers are in the off position the meter should completely stop moving, indicating zero usage. Then the customer turns the breakers on one at a time, observing after each breaker is on to determine if something is causing the meter to move really fast, possibly indicating a problem with an appliance. If the breaker box test does not reveal anything unusual the customer may request the company send a technician to check their meter.
- If their bill is accurate, the customer can contact the utility and request a deferred payment plan to amortize the bill over a set number of months or to be enrolled in an average monthly or budget billing program.
Small said the payment plan could benefit customers who rather pay the same cost every month.
“Rather then having low bills in spring and fall and high bills in summer and winter, the customer would get the same amount billed to their account each month,” she said.
To save money on electric usage, Small suggests covering up windows and turning down the thermostat when you leave the house.
“Making sure that their homes are insulated as well as possible, turning down the thermostat when they’re not going to be in the house, shutting off registers in rooms that they’re not using, drawing curtains to better insulate windows,” she said.
Small said the PSC’s goal is for customers to have safe and affordable utility service.