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New Billing and Payment Dates on the Horizon

 

From the May 2016 "Light Issue" newsletter:

We have been  evaluating our processes, and we need your support as we implement improvements.

One area of opportunity is our billing and collection process.

Years ago, we divided our service territory into over 70 reading cycles that allowed meter readers to drive from house to house in each cycle, record the usage and then return that information to our office where we billed 1000 members each day.

Today, even though we take daily reads using technology that allows data to travel the powerline, we still have billing cycles based upon an outdated process.

Our improvement plan is to reconfigure our meter reading cycles into compact geographic areas to save time and reduce our carbon footprint. This will provide greater efficiencies and lower costs, allowing us to condense our billing to four regular cycles per month rather than the dozens of cycles that remain from now outdated meter reading practices. The conversion also allows us to conduct billing-related service work in the field in a more orderly fashion with fewer and shorter trips between stops. And, the conversion to four regular billings per month will set an appropriate foundation for an upgraded billing and member information system that CVEC will be activating later this year. This conversion plan requires a one-time adjustment to members’ billing and target payment dates.

CVEC wants to provide you advance notice of this plan.

Some members will receive a bill for a partial month in June, while others will receive a bill for more than a month.

The conversion opens up the opportunity for good paying members to choose their preferred billing date:

  1. If the new billing date is acceptable to you, you need to do nothing during this conversion.
  2. If you’re a good paying member, this is a good time to pick the ideal payment date by choosing our Pick your Billing Date option. You can base it upon the date in the month when you receive your income stream. CVEC will adjust the billing date for members with automatic bank drafting to keep that date the same. (Good paying means no more than two late payments in the past twelve months and no trip charges due to non-payment.)
  3. For members who have had difficulty paying on time or who have been disconnected in the last 36 months due to non-payment, you have the choice of accepting the new payment date or selecting CVEC’s Prepaid payment option. Like a prepaid cellphone, you pay smaller amounts whenever it is convenient, while just maintaining a positive account balance.

While most members’ billing date will only move a few days, a much smaller group of members will see an adjustment that moves their billing dates to a different portion of the month. CVEC will notify those members by mail.

What to do next?

  1. Do nothing. Unless CVEC sends a notice in the mail, your new billing and payment dates will shift less than a week. Your next bill, arriving in June, will be for less or more than 30 days as CVEC adjusts to the new cycles. (As always, bills are due when presented and overdue if unpaid on the 20th day after presentment.) OR ...
  2. Select Pick your Billing Date. Read about it here and complete the online form. If you qualify for that option, we will confirm the new date. You can also contact CVEC at 800-367-2832, Option 0, or [email protected] to submit your request. OR ...
  3. Select the CVEC Prepaid option. Read about it here. If you select this payment option, CVEC will:

1. return your security deposit,

2. provide a deferred payment plan for any outstanding balance, and

3. add no charges in the future if you are disconnected after falling into a negative balance.

You can also contact CVEC at 800-367-2832, Option 0, or [email protected] to submit

your request for the CVEC Prepaid program.

 

Once the billing cycle conversion is complete, you will see your normal monthly bill ...

  1. ... with the new billing cycle date based upon your geographic location on the CVEC grid, or
  2. ... with a date based upon your Pick your Billing Date, as long as you continue with prompt payments, or
  3. ... converted to Prepaid where you have the option to make payments as often and whenever necessary and convenient.

Later this year, CVEC will be upgrading our core software system, providing new options for our Billing, Accounting, and Customer Information System. This will provide new payment options, account management, and energy savings opportunities for members.

Combined with our efforts to capture the most affordable wholesale power and increase our service reliability, the effort to provide options and control to members is part of our strategy to become a Top Co-op.

Thank you in advance for your support, and as always, please share your comments and advice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Phone: 434.263.8336 | Toll free: 800.367.2832 | Fax: 434.263.8339

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800 Cooperative Way

Arrington, VA 22922

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Dept. 1340  |  PO Box 2153

Birmingham, AL 35287-1340

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P. O. Box 247

Lovingston, VA 22949