Bill Announcement For Northwest Customers Impacted By Hurricane Michael.

Billing has resumed and reflect energy usage since the date of your last billing cycle. In an effort to make it easier to pay your bill, FPU has put into effect a variety of special concessions.

 

Learn More About How This Hurricane Billing Adjustment Will Impact You.

Please read our Frequently Asked Questions below for full details on how this may impact you, as well as assistance programs that may be available to you.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

 

Will power be cut off if the bill isn’t paid in full?

Florida Public Utilities resumed collection activity on delinquent accounts in the northwest Florida service territory (Jackson, Liberty and Calhoun counties) on February 4th. If your account is past due and you would like to request a payment arrangement, please contact us immediately. 

 

Why haven’t I received a bill sooner?

All Northwest Florida customer billing was put on hold October 12th due to Hurricane Michael as we focused on restoration efforts and allowing customers time to recover as best as possible from the impacts of the hurricane.  We began billing as normal on December 6th.

 

Why is my bill for so many days?

Your current bill is for the electricity used between your September meter read and your December meter read.  This includes any energy used before the storm-related outage and energy used after restoration of power.  As there was no power during your outage, there are no charges associate with that time.

For example:

Billing period is 9/17/2018 - 12/14/2018

9/17/2018 - 10/10/2018 (usage + taxes + customer charge)
10/11/2018 - 11/1/2018 (no usage + no customer charge)
11/1/2018 - 12/14/2018 (usage + taxes + customer charge)

 

Are any of the months I am billed based on estimated usage of my previous year’s consumption? 

If an actual meter read is available, your bill is for kilowatts used during the billing period. Keep in mind, your meter read and bill will only include usage from pre-storm and once your service was restored. If we could not read your meter, then an estimated bill may have been issued. We are thoroughly investigating any estimated bill and these bills will be adjusted to reflect actual consumption.

If you have any concerns regarding your bill, please contact FPU Customer Care at 800-472-7712, Monday-Friday between 7am-7pm EST.

 

What is a customer charge?

The customer charge is a fixed monthly amount to cover the costs of your service, meter and billing.  This charge is applied regardless of the quantity of energy used.

 

Why am I being charged two customer charges?

All customers are assessed a customer charge each month. During Hurricane Michael restoration, billing efforts ceased.  Once the Company resumed billing, some customers were only charged one customer charge for the October through December billing period.  There should have been two customer charges.  For those customer’s accounts that were only billed one customer charge, they will be assessed January. (One is for current month and one is for the missing second customer charge from the December bill)

 

Why did the Company previously state they will only bill a single month’s customer charge when billing resumed and now we are being assessed two?

Upon additional review, the decision was made to bill the valid monthly customer charges for both November and December since service was restored in November.  We are sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.  

 

My meter was changed and my bill doesn’t include energy charges from either or both the old and/or new meter.  Why not?

If an ending read from the old meter and/or a starting read from the new meter was unavailable or not recorded your usage could not be calculated and thus no energy charges were applied for the meter without starting and ending reads.

 

Why am I being charged for my area/yard light when it’s not working yet?

Please contact our Customer Care at 800-427-7712 and we will work with you to get your light repaired and adjust your bill accordingly.

 

I am enrolled in HomeServe and my bill only has one month of charges.  Will I be billed for the additional months?

No. Your HomeServe agreements remained in effect throughout the billing hiatus and are billing as usual starting with the December bill and going forward.

 

Why does my bill show a previous balance?

The previous balance reflects any unpaid charges from the September bill including any previous balance included in the September bill.

 

I am enrolled in Auto-pay.   What amount will be drafted from my payment account?

The full balance due, as shown, on your December bill will be drafted unless you end your enrollment in the auto pay program.  To make changes to your auto pay enrollment please visit www.fpuc.com to log into our Online Bill Manager or call Customer Care at 800-427-7712.

 

Why is the gross receipts tax amount so high?

The gross receipts tax is calculated by multiplying the gross receipts tax rate and your total billed charges.  This fee fluctuates based on usage.  The higher the kilowatt consumption, the higher the gross receipts tax charge. 

 

Why is the Franchise fee so high? 

The franchise fee is calculated by multiplying the franchise fee rate by and your total billed charges.  This fee fluctuates based on usage.  The higher the kilowatt consumption, the higher the franchise fee charge. 

 

Can I have more time to pay my bill?

We certainly understand there may be a need for additional time to pay your bill or for specific payment arrangements. Please contact Customer Care at 800-472-7712 , Monday-Friday between 7am-7pm EST to discuss available options.

 

What does the recent electric bill represent (in time covered)? 

The customer’s current bill is for the electricity used between their September meter read and December meter read.  This includes any energy used before the storm-related outage and energy used after restoration of power.  Since there was no power during the outage, there will be no charges associated with that time.

 

Can an installment payment plan be worked out?

Yes, flexible payment plans are available and we are working with customers on an individual basis to determine the payment terms. To address customer needs, we have extended walk-in office hours at our Marianna business office.  The hours are reflected below.

 

  • Wednesday, January 9th through Friday, January 11th from 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. (CST)
  • Saturday, January 12th from 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. (CST)
  • Monday, January 14th and Tuesday, January 15th from 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. (CST) 

Once meters are read, will there be adjustments to bills?  

The vast majority of the meters were able to be read and the vast majority of customers received bills for actual usage. Any bill that is estimated will be investigated and adjusted to reflect actual consumption where available.

 

In general, how will this situation be handled?

Our Customer Care team is dedicated to supporting our NW Florida customers throughout the ongoing recovery efforts from Hurricane Michael.  As part of our commitment to our customers, we have extended office hours as listed above, we continue to suspend collection activity and offer flexible payment arrangements.  Our representatives are available via phone at 800-427-7712, in-person or on the web at www.fpuc.com/nwbilling.

We have undertaken a detailed review of the billing results to ensure the accuracy of our customer bills and to identify any exceptions.  There are multiple teams aggressively working to address those accounts.  This includes customer outreach, property visits when necessary and billing adjustments where appropriate. 

LIMITED TIME CUSTOMER CARE EXTENDED HOURS:
January 9, 2019 - January 14, 2019
For Northwest Florida Customers

At Florida Public Utilities Company, we truly value and care about our customers. We understand the importance of being there in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael and are working hard to ensure all customers have accessibility to our staff in-person and over the phone to address any billing questions, set up payment arrangements, and any other customer care inquiries.

To better support your needs, we have extended our Customer Care walk-in hours as follows:

  • Wednesday, January 9th through Friday, January 11th
    from 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. (CST)
  • Saturday, January 12th from 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. (CST)
  • Monday, January 14th and Tuesday, January 15th
    from 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. (CST)

Thank you for your continued patience.