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ASK E SOURCE | UCC-ASKES-53 | PUBLISHED: MARCH 21, 2012
Pick a Date, Any Date
Insights into Utility Custom Due-Date Programs
By Stephanie Spalding
Q: I’m looking for information and best practices around customer-selected or
“pick a due date” programs. What utilities offer these types of programs, how
interested are customers, and what are the cash-flow implications?
A: Customer-selected due-date programs are popular because they give customers control
and flexibility over their energy-bill expenditures and personal cash flow. Customers can
choose their preferred due date to align with fixed-income paychecks or their household
budgeting structure. For utilities, offering programs that leave more decisions in the hands
of customers, instead of forcing them to do business on your terms, allows for an improved
overall customer experience. Custom due-date programs can give utilities a boost in
customer satisfaction, keep customers off payment-arrangement programs, and help
shorten the cash-flow cycle.
Utilities Offering Custom Due-Date Programs
We are aware of the following utilities that offer custom due-date programs:
• Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. The Bill Extender Plan allows customers on fixed incomes
to change their due date to align with their benefit checks.
• City of Mesa, Arizona. Customers can sign up online and select up to three choices of
due dates.
• Colorado Springs Utilities. Due dates are available on a first-come basis and are subject
to operating needs. Customers must be enrolled in autopay and paperless billing to
qualify for the program.
• Entergy Corp. Customers can enroll online through the My Account section of the
website.
• Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU). Available dates are based on the meter-reading
schedule for the service location.
• KCP&L. This program is only for qualified customers who receive Supplemental Security
Income or Social Security income.
• NV Energy. Customers must call to enroll.
• Otter Tail Power. Customers must be enrolled in autopay and can select the date their
account will be charged. This is not a true custom due-date program, but it has the
same effect because the customer has a 20-day range to choose from.
• Portland General Electric. Customers can e-mail the utility to enroll and select the date
they prefer. The program is offered as a benefit of the advanced metering infrastructure
(AMI) implementation, as described in the Metering.com article Portland General
Electric—AMI is only the beginning.
• Pulaski Electric System (PES). Customers can select from the 7th, 14th, 21st, or 28th
days of the month, but the chosen date must be within 14 days of the original due date.
• Rocky Mountain Power. Customers can call to move their due date a few days earlier or
later depending on the meter-reading schedule.
• Salt River Project. Residential and business customers can choose any date between the
1st and the 28th.
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Appendix BCUC IR1 22.1