Newsletters > August 2004 Newsletter

 

News from the Northeast Nebraska Public Power District
August 2004

 

This newsletter is to keep you informed of how the Board of Directors, Management and Employees of the Northeast Nebraska PPD are working to serve you. We want to continue to make ourselves available for your comments and suggestions. Please let us hear from you by calling 800-750-9277.

 

Self-read- Self-Billing system works well, but extra communications prevents problems

The Northeast Nebraska PPD has about 6,500 customers who read their own meters and send in a payment based on that reading. The real advantage for our customers is the low cost. The Power District does not need to pay to read the meters, print, stuff and mail bills. Here is how it works:

 

• Customers have a grace period until the 10th of each month (or nearest business day afterwards) to read their meter and get their payment to the District. These ten days provide a cushion for mail delivery, errands, and household budgets.
  

• After the 10th a late fee penalty of $10.00 or 10% of the bill amount is added to the amount due. A first class letter is then mailed to customers reminding them to submit a payment or call the office if extra time is needed to pay the bill. We understand that a payment can cross in the mail, but if you receive a Notice of Disconnect Letter, then please call the office to verify your payment has been received and recorded. To save money this letter doubles as a Late Payment Notice and a Letter of Disconnect and we usually send out 450 of these letters each month. When calling the office, always try to note the name of our billing clerk who helped you with your questions. This will help us better serve you should you need to call back. After the Notice of Disconnect Letter is mailed, we typically wait a week or more before performing any disconnections for non-payment.

 

Everything works well when the customer sends in a timely meter reading and payment. However, when we don’t get a meter reading, we must estimate a monthly usage in order to send out our Late Notice/Disconnect Letter. Also, we don’t know whether the customer intends to pay or not.

 

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