Residential Electric Customers
Effective June 2011, the electric portion of your bill now shows the unbundled cost to provide electricity to your home.  You will notice a new line item labeled “Delivery Charge”. We have itemized the energy component of your bill to show you how much you pay for the electric distribution infrastructure and maintenance for that infrastructure. This is a new line item on your bill, but not a new charge.  The amount you pay per kilowatt hour remains the same.     Please use the sample bill below to view the new bill format along with the billing terms for clarification. If you have additional questions please contact our customer service department at 616-355-1500 from 7:30 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday.

Bill Sample

Rate Calculation

Billing Terms:

 Billing Days  This is the number of days from your previous read date and the present read date and is the period of time for which your usage is being billed.

 Delivery Charge the cost component for the infrastructure and maintenance of the electric distribution servicing your home. This cost was bundled with the Energy Charge prior to June of 2011. This cost is applied to each kilowatt hour (kWh) consumed.

 Due Date  This is the date your bill must be paid before a late charge would be incurred..

 Energy Charge  the cost component for the electric generation operations, maintenance, fuel, purchase power agreements and market energy purchases. This cost is applied to each kilowatt hour (kWh) consumed.

 Rate EAR  Electric Residential Rate A

 Energy Optimization Charge  In 2008, the State of Michigan passed PA 295, directing electric providers to establish energy optimization plans and programs.  This charge, as mandated, covers the cost to fund energy-efficiency programs for HBPW electric customers.

 General Message This area includes information on Holland BPW services, activities the HBPW participates in, as well as City information.

 Hundred Cubic Feet (CCF)  The unit in which your water consumption and wastewater discharge is measured.

 Kilowatt-hour (kWh) Unit of electrical energy equivalent to the use of one Kilowatt for one hour. For example, a 1,000 watt window unit air conditioner turned on for 1 hour will use 1 kWh (1,000 watts x 1 hour).

 Meter Readings This section shows what the meter reading was for the billing period. Taking the net of the present and previous meter reading and multiplying it by the “Multiplier” will give you the total kWh for the billing period.

 Multiplier Most residential meters have a multiplier of 1. Some meters are designed for higher demand and use a multiplier of higher than 1.  A multiplier is then applied to the difference between your present and previous readings to determine your actual energy use.

Readiness to Serve Charge This is the monthly administration charge to serve your account. This charge includes the costs of metering, billing and customer-related operations.

 Renewable Energy Charge  The Clean, Renewable and Efficient Energy Act, PA 295 mandates that by 2015, 10 percent of a utility’s capacity be generated from renewable energies.   This charge goes toward funding renewable energy projects that will reduce our carbon emissions and reliance on fossil fuels to create electricity.

 Usage History  This area shows your previous electric and water usage for the past 13 months.