national multiple family submetering and allocation billing program ...

have this type of standard. Nearly 78% of respondents said that submetered residents are
allowed to request meter testing for accuracy. In about 60% of these cases the residents must
pay for this testing themselves.
Customer Service, Bills, and Fees
Most billing company respondents (72.2%) reported having written customer service
standards in place, while 27.8% of respondents indicated they do not have written customer
service standards. However, every single company does put a contact telephone number on each
water bill sent out. One third of the respondents said that they include informative historic
consumption information on the water bill and two-thirds said they do not include this
information.
None of the respondents (0.0%) indicated that they ever resell water at a profit at any of
their client properties.
Non-Payment of Water Bills
Non-payment of water bills can be a problem for water utilities, but has been particularly
troubling for third party billing service companies. Respondents to the survey indicated an
average non-payment rate of 12.7 percent. The median non-payment rate reported was 10
percent with a minimum of 3 percent and a maximum of 35 percent. For comparison, the East
Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) in Oakland, CA reports a non-payment rate of less than
1 percent.
Service Charges
The average service charge applied to each water bill is $3.29 according to the survey
respondents. The minimum service charge is $1.50 and the maximum reported was $6.15. The
median was $3.00. Table 4.22 shows the frequency of use of different service charge
determinations. The flat fee is by far the most common.
Table 4.22 Method for determining service charge
Method for Determining Service Charge % of Companies Using Method*
Flat fee per bill 94.4%
Based on utility service charge 11.1%
Based on a percent of the bill 5.6%
Other 5.6%
*Percents add to more than 100% as respondents could give more than one answer
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