(A) Payment of bills.
(1) Electric service bills are issued monthly. They are due upon receipt, and are payable to the customer support representative at the office of the electric utility during regular customer service office hours or in the drop box at City Hall after hours.
(2) All other employees of the city or the electric utility are expressly prohibited from receiving payment for utility bills.
(3) If payment is not made two days from the due date of the bill, the account is then delinquent and the “collection charge” in the amount of 3% of the first $3 plus the current unpaid balance as provided in the rate schedule is applicable. If payment is not made within the due date, the customer is informed by mail that the service is subject to disconnection, without further notice.
(4) In case of disconnection for non-payment of the bill, the customer will not be reconnected until he or she has paid the reconnection charge plus all amounts owed to the electric utility, or make an arrangement for his or her payment which is satisfactory to the electric utility.
(B) Collection charge. In addition to rates for service when it is necessary for an employee of the electric utility to go to a customer’s premises to collect a delinquent bill, a collection charge of $50 will be made. After hours service charges are $100.
(C) Disconnection charge. When service has been disconnected by the electric utility for non-payment of bills, a charge of $50 must be paid by the customer before such service is reconnected. After business hours service charge is $100.
(D) Reconnection charge.
(1) When service has been disconnected by the electric utility at the customer’s option, a request to reconnect service during normal business hours will require a reconnect charge of $50 prior to service being restored.
(2) If the customer, at his or her option, requests service to be restored after normal business hours, as provided above under division (A) above, a charge of $100 must be paid prior to reconnection.
(E) Insufficient funds. When a check that was received in payment of a customer’s account is returned unpaid by the bank for any reason (not the fault of the electric utility), the customer shall be assessed a handling charge of $30 for each check returned by the bank.
(F) Customer false callout. When a customer calls the electric utility for service restoration or repairs on the customer’s premises and it is determined that the problem is confined to the customer’s property or facilities (such as a tripped breaker, blown fuse, faulty wiring, and the like), a service charge of $50 may be assessed toward the customer’s account. The charge for this service after business hours is $100.
(G) Damage to utility facilities. If a customer causes damage to any facility of the electric utility, the customer shall be responsible for all costs associated with repairing or replacing the damaged facilities.
(Ord. 2010-11, passed 9-22-2010; Ord. 2019-25, passed on 5-13-2020)