CDE talks about cold weather electric bills

Lee Erwin Reporting
lerwin@clarksvillenow.com

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – It was a cold evening Monday, February 10 which seemed appropriate as the Clarksville Department of Electricity (CDE) met with customers concerned over recent high electric bills. Around a half-dozen residents attended the “Understanding Your Electric Bill” meeting held at Clarksville City Council Chambers.

Officials with CDE Lightband called the meeting to explain the rate structure of the utility, their relationship with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and answer questions from residents. Many customers had voiced their concerns through social media sites about higher electric bills after several cold snaps in the area.

Superintendent of CDE Lightband, Brian Taylor, said that Clarksville is going through its coldest winter in 20 years and 2014 started off with the coldest January in the past ten years. Taylor added that it’s a direct correlation that as the weather gets colder power usage goes up.

CDE purchases their electricity from TVA and has to pay the utility just like CDE customers have to their bill. Taylor said last month CDE had to pay around $3 million more for electricity compared to January of 2013.

The electric meters of CDE customers are read once a month for billing purposes and those customers are only billed for the amount of electricity that flows through each individual meter. Current residential electric rates which are regulated by TVA across the region average between 9 and 10 cents per kilowatt hour.

One customer attending the meeting, Maricella Light, questioned her January electric bill after hearing that it was the coldest month in a decade. Light said there was a significant drop in her latest bill over the bills she received on December 5 and January 6.

Light had previously contacted CDE about the drastic change in her bill and Taylor said after looking over her electricity usage he wondered if something had changed at her house and said CDE could check her meter to make sure it was working correctly.

Light, who also recently began a Facebook page, ‘Clarksville residents for fair utilities’, said not all of her questions were answered but she was happy CDE held the meeting. “I am glad that they went through the trouble of doing this and took the initiative to answer some questions for us,” said Light.

Another question involved the $4.25 convenience fee charged by CDE for credit card payments over the phone or online. Taylor said that fee is put in place by the credit card processor and that money does not go to CDE. CDE is a nonprofit and Taylor said any money retained goes back into the infrastructure to help system improvements within the company.

Taylor also wanted to let everyone know that no one gets free electricity. He was referring to what many people believe is that CDE customers pay for electric service used by the City of Clarksville for events and displays like the lights at Christmas on the Cumberland. All of that electricity used is paid for by the city.

Taylor talked about a number of ways that customers can get help through CDE to pay their electric bills like levelized billing and partial payments. Levelized billing lets customers pay around the same amount each month based on their power usage over 12 months. If a person is on the disconnect list the partial pay program allows part of the bill to be paid with the rest due within seven days.

There are also local agencies like the Clarksville-Montgomery County Community Action Agency and Urban Ministries Grace Assistance available to help residents with their utility bills. Over the past year these and other agencies have donated $850,000 and helped 3,353 customers to pay their electric bill.

After the meeting Taylor said he was very pleased with how things turned out. “I think we were able to get the message out. Really I want them to better understand who we are and I want them to feel comfortable if they ever have a question, ever have a problem, to give us a call and let us answer the questions for them,” Taylor said.

Customers who feel their electric bill is too high or have other questions about their electric service can visit the CDE Lightband’s website at www.clarksvillede.com or call 931-648-8151.