CUC updates its non-rate fees

Non-rate fees for public utilities are now available on the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. website, according to CUC executive director Alan Fletcher.

These non-rate fees are for specific purposes and only apply to customers who specifically request the services or violate public utility laws.

“All of CUC’s rates and fee schedules are posted on the website and now have been updated to include the newest changes,” Fletcher said.

He said these non-rate fees are intended to recover the cost of these specific services.

“When customers request these special services, CUC incurs cost in fulfilling the request. CUC had a choice to make as far as how to recover these costs. We could have either broken out the costs so that our customers only pay for the services they actually use, or we could have just taken the average of all the costs and asked that all customers pay a share of it,” he said.

Fletcher said they deemed it fair to only charge these non-rate fees on those who are requesting for these special services.

“Because there are some customers who require excessive services, which are then subsidized by other ratepayers, CUC believed it would be fairer to all customers for the cost of burden of this extra work to be borne by those who require extra services,” he said.

According to Fletcher, these non-rate fees have not been reviewed or adjusted for many years. Each of the non-rate fees factor into the overall cost of each service provided.

These new non-rate fees have already been approved by the Commonwealth Public Utilities Commission.

Non-rate fees

One non-rate fee is a $550 penalty for unauthorized connection. There is also a new $220 fee for reconnection to the pole. These fees only apply to unauthorized or illegal connections to the CUC grid.

“These fees are significant due to the sizeable level of effort required to reconnect the power as well as to ensure the safety of the crews who must do this difficult work. CUC also believes this will help to discourage further unauthorized usage,” Fletcher said.

One other fee is for inspections. After two free inspections, any additional inspections by CUC will be charged $210.

Another fee is CUC’s existing 1 percent late charge. This remains as a late charge for power, wastewater, and water utilities.

“Customers may be asking themselves how do these new non-rate fees impact me. But it will not affect the customers who follow the rules. Similarly, CUC already provides two free investigations.”

For more information on CUC’s fees and non-rate fees, visit CUC’s website at www.cucgov.org/rates/.