What is Idle Billing?
Consumers in some rural service areas may receive Idle Billing charges from their distributor even though their utilities have been physically disconnected. These charges are used to maintain the integrity of the existing infrastructure on the property.
Who can this impact?
Idle charges are applied when services have been disconnected by the distributor at site and no power is being used. In most cases, these charges only apply to rural consumers. Not all distribution companies will have Idle Billing.
Please check with your distribution company if your property will be subject to Idle Billing after the electricity is disconnected.
Why does Idle Billing Exist?
Idle charges exist to maintain existing infrastructure on properties. This is to ensure power can be restored to the site if necessary and to make sure neighboring properties and infrastructure are not negatively impacted.
How does Idle Billing work? How much is it?
The rates for your idle charges will depend on your distributor and where you are located. Idle charges often take several months to start billing. Your first bill for idle charges will likely be higher than a single month of idle billing.
If you are thinking about disconnecting your services for a specific period of time, you should compare the cost of idle charges and reconnection fees that will be required to reconnect your services against the cost of turning off your breakers and pay the non-energy costs on a monthly basis.
How can Idle Billing be avoided?
If you don't want to pay for idle charges, you can request the distributor to salvage the equipment at your property. This means the distributor will physically remove the meter, power poles and power lines and all related infrastructure. Your property will no longer have access to the power grid.
Salvaging a site is a big decision and is usually only done when you have no future plans to use electricity at that property. Site salvaging is a lengthy and costly process and the cost to reinstall the power lines, poles and meters is a significant investment. Talk to your distributor about all the related costs before you decide to salvage your equipment!