Budget Billing Plans

Budget Billing Plans Available
Do your electric bills go up and down with the changing seasons? Would you prefer to pay approximately the same amount each month? If so, Guernsey-Muskingum may have a budget billing plan for you.

The Cooperative offers two budget billing plans: the fixed budget and the levelized budget.

Fixed budget

Under the fixed budget plan, the Cooperative estimates your monthly usage based upon a 12-month average. This average is then used to calculate the bill that you will pay over the next twelve-month period. Members typically pay the same amount every month. This amount may be adjusted periodically by the Member Accounting department to prevent either a large positive or negative balance from accumulating on the account.

Levelized budget

The levelized budget does not result in exactly the same budget payment each month. The Cooperative adds the current month’s consumption to the previous eleven months usage and an average monthly kilowatt-hour figure is determined. This amount is used to calculate the budget billing amount for the month. This means that the budget amount is actually adjusted monthly, but usually remains within a few dollars of the previous month’s budget. As with the fixed budget, the levelized budget amount may need to be adjusted periodically to prevent a large positive or negative balance from accumulating. The levelized budget can only be offered for accounts that have twelve months of billing history.

The benefit of both budget plans is to minimize or eliminate large swings in your bill that can be caused by the change of the seasons. If the either of these budget plans appeals to you, and your billing account is current, just call the Member Accounting department on (740)826-7661 or 1-800-521-9879 and ask to be placed on budget billing. To remain on either budget plan, the budget amount billed must be paid in full each month.

One phone call is all it takes....