Updated Miscellaneous Service Fees – Effective April 1, 2026
At Burlington Electric Department (BED), we assess various Miscellaneous Fees pursuant to a tariff approved by the Public Utility Commission (PUC). Examples of these fees include:
- Initial service fee, charged when BED places service in a customer’s name at a service location;
- Reconnection fee, charged when BED restores electric service to a customer who has been disconnected for nonpayment after multiple reminders;
- Returned check fee, charged when the bank does not honor a payment by check; and
- Customer assistance call fee, charged when a customer requests BED staff to visit a service location and BED determines the issue to be the customer’s responsibility.
Our current Miscellaneous Fees have been in place since July 1, 2010, having been set based on costs in fiscal year 2009 (FY09). This cost basis pre-dated BED’s deployment of our advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), or smart meters.
To serve you better, we recently have analyzed our business processes for all services associated with Miscellaneous Fees, including how our smart meters streamline our processes in certain instances. We also reviewed and updated all BED time and staff involvement with each service and applied updated labor and labor overhead rates. Finally, we made updates in accordance with provisions of our contract with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
The results of our analyses led to proposed new, decreased, and increased fees, which have been approved by the PUC. An example of a decreasing fee is for initial service, which costs approximately $5 for a returning customer and $15 for a first-time customer, a reduction from the current $30 fee. An example of a increasing fee is for returned checks, moving from $10 to $19.
The following changes will be effective April 1, 2026.
Fee Changes
|
Service |
Description |
Current fee as of July 1, 2010 |
New fee effective April 1, 2026 |
Notes |
|
Initial Service Fee |
Charged to returning customers, including for standing orders, whenever the electric service is put in that customer’s name at a service location |
$30.00 |
$5.00 |
No distinction currently between new and returning customers |
|
Initial Service Fee |
Charged to a customer new to BED’s service territory whenever the electric service is put in that customer’s name at a service location |
$30.00 |
$15.00 |
No distinction currently between new and returning customers |
|
Initial Service Fee |
Charged whenever BED personnel are called in to work during non-working hours to respond to a customer request for initial service |
$195.00 |
$109.00 |
No change to current practice |
|
Reconnection |
Charged to restore service to a customer; this fee will be charged instead of the initial service fee when reconnection accompanies a request for service. |
$20.00 |
$26.00 |
Fee currently is charged only to restore service to a customer who has been disconnected for non-payment |
|
Reconnection |
Charged whenever BED personnel are called in to work during non-working hours for the purpose of responding to a customer request for reconnection |
$195.00 |
$130.00 |
Fee currently is charged only to restore service to a customer who has been disconnected for non-payment |
|
Temporary Service |
Normally for construction purposes; charged when temporary service of single phase, 240 volt, 100 amp characteristics or less is installed at a site |
$535.00 |
$882.00 |
No change from current practice |
|
Returned Checks |
Charged each time a check or ACH/electronic payment is not honored by the bank |
$10.00 |
$19.00 |
Fee currently is charged only for returned checks |
|
Meter Removal/ |
Charged for removal and replacement of up to two meters at a service location for purpose of installing siding materials on a building |
$95.00 |
$165.00 |
No change from current practice |
|
Collections |
Recommend eliminating fee and charging only for reconnects |
$20.00 |
n/a |
Fee currently is charged when BED personnel collects funds at a customer’s service location. |
|
Customer Assistance Call |
Charged whenever BED personnel are requested to visit a customer’s service location and the problem is determined to be the customer’s responsibility |
$28.00 |
$156.00 |
No change from current practice |
|
Customer Assistance Call |
Charged whenever BED personnel are called in to work during non-working hours for the purpose of responding to a customer request for assistance and the problem is determined to be customer’s responsibility |
$195.00 |
$562.00 |
No change from current practice |
|
Disconnect/Reconnect – Single-Meter |
Charged when a customer or their contractor asks BED field personnel to visit the customer’s single-meter property during business hours to perform a disconnection and/or reconnection of electric service where no BED engineering work is required |
n/a |
$577.00 |
New fee |
|
Disconnect/Reconnect – Single-Meter, Underground |
Charged when a customer or their contractor asks BED field personnel to visit the customer’s single-meter property during business hours to perform a disconnection and/or reconnection of electric service where no BED engineering work is required that also requires BED lineworkers to pull underground service |
n/a |
$796.00 |
New fee |
|
Disconnect/Reconnect – Multi-Meter |
Charged when a customer or their contractor asks BED field personnel to visit the customer’s multi-meter property during business hours to perform a disconnection and/or reconnection of electric service |
n/a |
$666.00 |
New fee |
|
Disconnect/Reconnect – Multi-Meter, Underground |
Charged when a customer or their contractor asks BED field personnel to visit the customer’s multi-meter property during business hours to perform a disconnection and/or reconnection of electric service where no BED engineering work is required that also requires BED lineworkers to pull underground service |
n/a |
$885.00 |
New fee |