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Understanding Your February Utility Bill: Explanation and Insights from RMLD

Why Your February Bill May Be Higher Than Expected
Posted on: February 22, 2024 - 12:16pm
bill

At RMLD, maintaining ongoing communication with our customers is a top priority. We remain dedicated to providing reliable service and support while striving to keep bills as low as possible.

Now, let's address a recent observation: your February utility bill might be a bit higher this month compared to last. Allow us to provide clarity as to why that's happening:

Explanation: This increase is primarily due to two factors:

  1. There were extra days in the billing cycle this month compared to the previous month.
  2. Temperatures were colder, resulting in increased energy consumption for heating purposes.

Further Details: To delve deeper, we utilize a metric called Heating Degree Days (HDD) to quantify the demand for heating energy. HDD is calculated by subtracting the average outdoor temperature from a reference temperature (usually 65°F) for each day, and then summing up these differences over a specific period. A higher HDD value indicates a greater demand for heating.

Additionally, here is some additional context to shed light on the increase. It's important to acknowledge that we bill customers in various towns at different intervals, accounting for the differences in the information provided for each town:

  • Reading:
    • 5 extra usage days in February compared to January
    • 3 Storm events
    • 34.3% increase in Heating Degree Days
  • North Reading:
    • 5 extra usage days in February compared to January
    • 3 Storm events
    • 37.6% increase in Heating Degree Days
  • Wilmington:
    • 1 extra usage day in February compared to January
    • No Storm events in the February billing cycle
    • 20.2% increase in Heating Degree Days
  • Lynnfield Center:
    • 4 extra usage days in February compared to January
    • No Storm events in the February billing cycle
    • 26.2% increase in Heating Degree Days

If you have any questions or concerns about your bill or energy usage, please don't hesitate to reach out to our customer service team.

Thank you for your understanding and continued support.

Sincerely,

The RMLD Team