With electric rates on the rise, many consumers in Southern New England are looking for solutions that’ll take the guesswork out of what they owe each month.
If you don’t qualify for low-income programs, there may be another way to bring down your bill each month or at least keep it at a predictable rate.
It’s called Budget Billing, a program that keeps energy bills at bay by charging you the same amount in six-month increments, similar to what oil companies offer.
“It takes an average of the household usage within the past 12 months, and once it takes out usage, it places a customer on a fixed amount,” Rhode Island Energy Customer Advocate Samantha Perez said.
You'll continue to pay that amount for the next six months, regardless of how much energy you use or how much rates go up.
“If you’re the type of person who likes to know what you are paying, no surprises, within a fixed amount, then this is the program for you,” Perez said.
A fixed amount doesn’t mean a discounted rate.
Rhode Island Energy bills jumped 47% this October.
While customers with budget billing won't see that hike right away, the higher prices will catch up with them eventually.
“After the next six months, you may see a slight increase, but once again, it is an average, so it is taking the peaks and the valleys and averaging it out for the customer,” Perez said. “It makes it slightly more manageable for the customer to create at least a budget.”
Rhode Island Energy will send you a letter one month before your six-month billing period is up with the new rate for the upcoming six months. If you decide you’d rather go back to regular billing at that point, you can cancel the plan.
Since the Budget Billing Program uses an average, there’s also a possibility you’ll get a credit at the end of the six-month period if you don’t use as much energy as anticipated.
If your bill is still too high after calculating the average with Budget Billing, there may be other ways to save.
Perez recommends the Income Eligible Energy Savings Program for those who qualify, which includes single person households making $32,265 or less a year and a two-family household making $42,193 or less per year.
“There are also other resources in the community like LIHEAP or the Good Neighbor Energy Fund if they have a balance,” Perez said.
LIHEAP, or the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, provides federal assistance to reduce costs on home energy bills for those who qualify.
The Good Neighbor Energy Fund by United Way uses donations from sponsoring energy companies, , businesses and residents to provide financial help for eligible Rhode Islanders who are experiencing a financial hardship.
The income threshold for the Good Neighbor Energy Fund is higher than LIHEAP, with an annual income limit of $40,770 for a single-family household and $54,930 for a two-family household.
If you don't qualify for those programs and budget billing isn’t enough, Perez said there may be other ways to catch a break.
“We have payment plans that we can stretch out for as long as we can to hopefully make those payments more manageable each month," Perez said.