Explanation of charges on monthly statements
Customer Charge – is a fixed monthly charge on your bill for the utility to recover the costs of metering, meter reading, billing, and other customer-related operating costs, exclusive of demand and energy consumption.
Distribution Energy Charge – is a charge based on the quantity of electric energy or kilowatt-hours (kWh) used by a customer. This charge recovers costs for a utility to deliver electric energy from the transmission system to a customer’s premises, through the distribution system. It includes expenses for operation and maintenance of the distribution facilities.
Power Supply Energy Charges – is a charge based on the quantity of electric energy or kilowatt-hours (kWh) used by a customer. This charge recovers the cost of power purchased by the company to serve its customers, there is no mark-up or profit.
Sales Tax – The Michigan Dept of Treasury requires utility companies to collect 4% sales tax from residential customers and 6% from non-residential customers and security lights.
PSCR Power Supply Cost Recovery factor
The price Alpena Power Company pays for electricity is directly passed through to customers with no markup or profit. The PSCR contains some of the more unpredictable and volatile costs that occur. The current factor can be found on our website at www.alpenapower.com under Rates and Tariffs section in the Complete Rate Book on sheet D-3.00.
LIEAF Low Income Energy Assistance Fund
Public Act 95 of 2013 created the Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund (LIEAF). A monthly surcharge on each retail billing meter to assist low-income, at-risk residents with their utility bills. The intention is to provide funds to prevent disconnection of service and to help people become more energy self-sufficient. The surcharge is capped at $1.00 per meter. MDHHS, in consultation with the MPSC, ensures that all money collected from the fund for a geographic area is returned, to the extent possible, to low-income customers seeking energy assistance in that area.
Energy Waste Reduction Surcharge
Public Act 342 of 2016 allows for utilities recovery of approved costs for utilities Energy Waste Reduction Plans. Energy waste reduction aims to use less energy through energy efficiency, load management that reduces utility provider costs, or energy conservation. The MPSC approved a per kWh surcharge for residential customers and monthly per meter surcharges for business customers to recover costs associated with utilities’ Energy Waste Reduction Plans and Programs.
