How To Pay My Bill

Sign Up For E-billing

Sign up for e-billing to receive your monthly bill by email. You will save trees, as well as printing, stuffing, and mailing costs. These savings help us keep your electric rates low.

Sign Up For E-billing

Ways to Pay My Bill

Pay By Credit or Debit Card

Set up your online account. When you set up your online BED account, you can pay your bill and also check your usage. If you have questions about our online account system, visit our BED Account Frequently Asked Questions.

• We accept VISA, MasterCard, and Discover.
• Customers can also call an automated toll-free number: 1-866-665-9575.
• IMPORTANT: There is a $3.50 service fee for paying your bill with a credit or debit card. To avoid a $3.50 fee when paying your BED bill, you can make payment in the following ways. Learn more at burlingtonelectric.com/avoidfee.

Pay By Cash or Check

Please write your customer and location ID numbers on all checks and correspondence sent to us.

• Mail your check to us in the return envelope that comes with your bill to BED, PO Box 5119, Burlington, VT 05402.
  • Make check payable to “Burlington Electric Department.”
  • Do NOT mail cash.
• Use your bank’s online bill pay feature to initiate either an electronic funds transfer (EFT) or preparation and mailing of a paper check from your bank to BED.
• Bring the payment to our offices at 585 Pine Street.
  • 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays
• Place your check payment in one of the BED drop boxes located at:
  • City Hall (Church Street entrance)
  • BED Office at 585 Pine Street
  • Please do not place cash in any of our night drop boxes. We can’t be held responsible. 

During an extended vacation, you may pay your electric bill ahead of time based on bills from past years, or you may elect to use BED’s convenient automatic debit or budget payment plans.

Need Help Paying Your Bill?

Resolve Billing Problems

If you have a question about your bill, please call our customer service representatives at 802-865-7300. If we are unable to resolve your problem, you may also call the Consumer Affairs Division of the Vermont Department of Public Service at 1-800-622-4496.

Understanding Your Bill

The following information will help you understand your electric bill.

• Customer Charge: This includes the monthly cost of meter reading, maintaining customer records, billing and providing other customer services.
• City Franchise Fee: Fee charged to BED by city ordinance for use of streets and rights-of-way. This fee is not part of BED rates and is charged to BED customers based on all charges (except for the initial block of power for residential customers and the sales tax portion for commercial customers). Nonpayment of the city franchise fee is not subject to BED disconnect procedures.
• Kilowatt Hours (KWh): An electric meter measures the electricity used in kilowatt hours. If a 100-watt light bulb is used for 10 hours, the electric meter will register 1 KWh (100 watts x 10 hours = 1000 watt hours or 1 kilowatt hour).
• Energy Efficiency Charge: This supports BED’s energy efficiency services. This charge is added to the bills of all Vermont ratepayers, and the services are available to all customers. Please call Customer Servicer more information.
• Rate Codes:
  • LG: Large General Service
  • LL: Leased Lights
  • LT: Large General Service-Time of Use
  • PS: Primary Service
  • RS: Residential Service
  • RT: Residential Service-Time of Use
  • SG: Small General Service
  • ST: Small General Service-Time of Use
• Residential Bills (RS, RT):
  • Initial Block: BED provides residential customers a block of 100 KWh at a lower cost each month. The electricity is listed separately on the bill.
• Commercial and Industrial Bills (LG, LT, PS, SG, ST):
  • Demand: Large non-residential users of electricity are billed for their demand for electricity along with kilowatt hour (KWh) consumption. Demand is measured in kilowatt (KW). The demand is the highest amount of electricity required at any one given time. BED must have sufficient electricity and the proper equipment available (such as generating facilities, distribution lines and transformers) to meet the customer’s maximum demand or load requirements. A customer’s demand charge helps to cover these costs.
  • Demand Ratchet Charge: Fifty percent (50%) of the highest fifteen-minute peak that occurred during any of the most recent Summer Peak months (June through September) that fall within the previous 11 months. A customer’s billed demand is either the actual measured demand or the ratchet demand–whichever is higher.
• Vermont Sales Tax: Vermont requires that non-residential customers pay sales tax on their entire bill (exclusive of City Franchise Fee) unless they have received an exemption from the state.

Why Is My Bill So High This Month?

If your bill is fluctuating from month to month or appears to be higher than it should considering your usage, there are several things to consider.

A fluctuation in your bill may be due to a change in how you used energy in the previous month. Typically, a home is equipped with many energy-using appliances that are not always used the same amount each month. You may have had guests, which could have contributed to higher water usage (causing an electric water heater to run more), more lights being used (or being used longer), more laundry, cooking, etc.

The time of year is another possible reason for a bill fluctuation. During the summer months, appliances such as dehumidifiers, air conditioners, fans and swimming pool pumps are running. In the winter, most heating systems use electricity to circulate the heat. People spend more time indoors and use more lighting.

Generally, a meter is read every 30 days. This can vary by a few days meaning a higher or lower bill than average. It will state on your electric bill the number of days the bill covers.

If you think your bill has changed drastically and none of these factors apply, call Customer Service at 802-865-7300. One of our representatives may be able to offer an explanation, make arrangements to double-check the meter reading, or schedule a free energy audit.