If you feel your bill is unusually high, and this means very high having nothing to do with the rate increase request a "Load Study" to be performed on your home! I have had Representatives try an tell customer's they can't have a Load Study performed because they are not a business, the sky is pink or it's not a real application! The sky being pink is clearly my over emphasising how real it is that Representatives have tried at some point to deter people from having a Load Study Application completed over the phone. We later found out it was because the two Representatives weren't familiar with the application themselves, checked with a supervisor upon request and then proceeded to take the application over the phone.So, generally you may get a Representative who is not familiar, in which case kindly ask to speak with a supervisor.The "Load Study" entails a number of questions, is painless and rather fast! It will determine if you are in fact paying too much for a bill each month and based on results bill is either adjusted or not.
Questions that are asked, how many television's are in the home?, computer's?,Jacuzzis? etc...they need to know about everything in the home that uses energy. If you don't have a television(some don't),a jacuzzi, you had new windows installed in the home which can contribute to keeping heat and cool air in, (providing they were installed properly),you don't owe from a back bill,then there should be no reason based upon additional measures you take to seriously conserve energy, that a two bedroom Apartment's heat bill should be six-hundred dollars a month gas or electric!
Keeping appliances unplugged when not in use is important and takes up a great deal of energy, not placing a thousand watt bulb(If they make them for a house/apt...wouldn't make sense which is the point), in the bathroom helps and having your meter testing if it is spinning way too fast. Example? Knowing everything is turned off in the home because you are going out, the only thing running is the refrigerator,water heater etc and the dial on your mete is at warp speed! This is called an incorrect meter.The electric or gas meter should not be running fast by more than 2% and if it is your bill should be adjusted. If it is running slow, the utility company cannot ask you to pay the amount you were undercharged, unless the meter was tampered with or failed to register at all, or you should have known that the bill did not reflect actual usage.Unless the meter was tampered with, the utility company should allow you to pay the undercharged amount in installments over a period of time equal to the period that you w
ere undercharged.If you suspect that your meter is not operating properly, you can ask the utility company to test the meter.The test is free as long as you do not ask for one more than once in a 12-month period.If you ask the BPU to conduct a test, there is a $5 fee.
Other steps you can take is contacting the BPU to dispute charges based on problems paying the utility bill because of an incorrect charge or because it is difficult to anticipate what the charge will be.Contact the electric company first and if the matter is still unresolved within five days contact the BPU and ask for an investigation of the disputed charge.Once the dispute is before the Board, collection activity on the charge, including termination of service,must CEASE until it has been resolved. And the electric company does not shut off on Friday's/weekends. I've heard some people get scared while in the middle of a dispute discuss how they were told they were getting shut off and on a Friday,leaving them without electric all weekend before they could deal with the matter further on a Monday (business day), they cannot terminate service on the weekend.
You may be able to discharge a utility bill that you are unable to pay by filing for bankruptcy.If the bankruptcy court discharges the debt and relieves you of the responsibility of paying the bill, you may continue to get service from your utility provider, but you will be required to post a new deposit.It is usually not a good idea to file bankruptcy primarily to deal with a utility bill.There may be components to pursuing bankruptcy,and before doing so you should speak with an attorney.If you are eligible for Legal Services assistance, you can contact your regional Legal Service office or the LSNJ-LAW hot line at 1-888-576-5529 for a telephone appointment with an advocate who can assist you further.
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