1. Who do I call if I have general question regarding my electric service?
Reading Municipal Light Department (RMLD) provides the commercial customer with a Key Account Manager. Key Account Manager give a single point of contact for a commercial customer regarding any issues pertaining to their service with the RMLD.
Joe Bilicki is the Key Account Manager
2. How many commercial rates does RMLD offer?
RMLD offers two rates for its business customers.
Businesses that run a three-shift operation or have a steady load throughout the day can be billed, at the customer’s request, on an Industrial Time of Use Rate TOU Rate
The time of use rate is based on an on-peak/off-peak rate. Electricity used between the hours of 12:00 Noon and 7:00 P. M. Monday through Friday is charged on the on-peak rate. Electricity used between the hours of 7:00 P. M. and 12:00 Noon Monday through Friday, all day Saturday, Sunday and most legal holidays is charged the off-peak rate.
The demand is measured during the on-peak time period only.
3. What billing terms are important for me to understand?
Important billing terms and what they mean:
Customer Charge - The basic cost of providing items such as service maintainence, metering, meter reading and billing. These fixed costs are unaffected by the actual amount of electricity that is used.
kWh - stands for kilowatt-hour, a basic unit of electricity usage.
Example: Ten 100-watt light bulbs burning for one hour equal one kWh.
kW - stands for kilowatt, also referred to as demand, the greatest 15-minute electrical requirement occurring in a bill period.
Example: A meter that services an account that has ten 1,000-watt light fixtures has a demand of 10 kW.
For Time-of-Use Industrial Rate customers:
On Peak - Period of time when the need or demand for electricity on RMLD’s system is high. This normally occurs between the hours of 12:00 Noon and 7:00 P. M., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.
Off Peak - Period of time when the need or demand for electricity on RMLD’s system is low. This normally occurs between the hours of 7:00 P.M. and 12:00 Noon, Monday through Friday, Saturday, Sunday and most legal holidays.
4. What is the demand component on my commercial billing statement?
RMLD uses two components to bill its commercial customers -- demand, which is measured in kilowatts, and energy, which is measured in kilowatt-hour usage.
The demand is a measure of the rate of energy used by electrical equipment during a specific period of time. The rate of energy used is based on the number and size of electrical equipment used simultaneously. The amount of equipment connected and running at the same time will determine the rate of electricity or demand used at any given time. The electric meter constantly measures the amount of current flowing through the meter and totals within 15-minute interval, which register on the meter.
A simple analogy is to compare a commercial meter to a speedometer in a car. The needle measures the speed a vehicle is traveling and the force the vehicle is moving along the road. The demand portion of the meter measures the force of electricity flowing through the meter. The odometer measures how many miles the vehicle has traveled. The dials or digital read-out on the meter measures how much electricity has flowed through the meter.
5. Why am I charged a demand on my bill?
RMLD bills its commercial customers much the same as RMLD is billed by its wholesale power suppliers. RMLD bills its commercial customers in order to recoup the wholesale charges. Long-and-short-term contracts are negotiated with our wholesale suppliers in order to have power available for customer use. As the demand for electricity increases, the capacity RMLD must have available to serve its customers must also increase.
6. Why is the demand on my bill the same some months and different other months?
Every month, after your commercial meter is read, a meter reader sets the demand register to zero. The kilowatt-hour portion of the meter is a running account of the usage at the business; the demand is measured on a monthly basis.
If the commercial customer’s demand peaks during the months of June through September, RMLD bills the demand on either the highest demand or 80% of the previous highest demand.
If the commercial customer’s demand peaks during the months of October through May, RMLD bills the demand on the highest demand or 60% of the previous highest demand.
7. Would my electric bill change from month to month?
There are two charges on your bill, Fuel Charge and Purchase Power, which are pass through costs and adjust monthly, generally in small increments. The Fuel Charge cannot adjust up or down more then a half of cent in a billing cycle.
RMLD's peak usage is during the summer air conditioning months. This season peak may also be reflective of your electric usage.
8. What is the Fuel Charge Adjustment on my bill and how is it figured?
The fuel charge is a way to adjust bills on a monthly basis to reflect the current cost of power. Since RMLD does not generate electricity, all power used by our customers comes from outside generating plants.
The fuel charge adjustment is a charge passed on to our customers by our wholesale suppliers. RMLD does not derive any revenue from this charge.
To calculate the fuel charge the various fuel costs from our suppliers are totaled at the beginning of the month. That figure is then divided by the number of kilowatt-hours used by our customers. The result is the fuel cost per kilowatt-hour. This charge is the same for all customers.
The fuel charge for each bill is figured by multiplying the fuel charge by the number of kilowatt-hours used by the customer on the monthly billing. The fuel charge cannot adjust up or down more then a half of cent in a billing cycle.
9. What is the Purchase Power Adjustment (PPA) on my bill and how is it figured?
The Purchase Power Adjustment (PPA) is designed to recoup or credit the difference in costs associated with the production of electricity.
This adjustment became necessary with the introduction of standard market design to the Massachusetts electric industry in March 2000. This adjustment varies monthly depending on the cost the wholesale generating facilities charge for power.
10. Is there a way I can even out my payments to avoid seasonal fluctuations?
RMLD offers commercial customers a Budget Bill Program. RMLD will average the previous twelve months’ electric bills and add a contingency to the account for any fluctuation in the Fuel Charge Adjustment or increased customer usage.
11. I am moving out of your service area. What do I need to do to cancel service?
Call a customer specialist at 781-944-1340 or 781-942-6598 Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. You can also E-mail us your request by accessing our Staff Directory
12. I am an electrician. How do I apply for a Utility Authorization Number (UAN) and what information do I need?
You need to apply for a UAN prior to the start of all electrical work you plan to do in Reading, North Reading, Wilmington or Lynnfield. The electrician must call the Meter Department before 3 p. m. Monday through Friday or a customer specialist between 3 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. at 781-944-1340 or 781-942-6598.
The following information is required:
customer’s name
customer’s phone number
electrician’s name
electrician’s phone number
electrician’s license number
electrician’s mailing address (copy of UAN application will be sent to the electrician).
13. Can I purchase power from another supplier of electricity?
No.
RMLD’s service territory covers Reading, North Reading, Wilmington and Lynnfield Center.
When the Department of Telecommunications and Energy (now the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) ordered deregulation to begin in 1998, it allowed customers of privately owned Massachusetts electric companies to be given a choice in energy suppliers. The new legislation allowed customers to choose what company they wanted to receive their energy from.
This restructuring law was introduced to create competition and lower electric costs for consumers. RMLD and other municipal electric utilities successfully lobbied to be exempt from this legislation.
Since deregulation, RMLD’s commercial customers have enjoyed lower rates than those commercial customers of investor or privately owned utilities.
14. Why am I charged a sales tax?
The application of sales tax is based on the regulations of the Massachusetts Department of Revenue. A 6.25% sales tax is charged to non-residential accounts.
There are sales tax exemptions, which the forms are available on RMLD's website under Commercial Customers. Sales Tax Exempt Forms
Customers are responsible to make the determination if their business or organization falls under any provisions for state tax exemption. Forms are to be filled out and submitted to the RMLD.
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