Over the course of the past few months, I’ve been conducting the 2019 Utility Fee Survey. This is an update to the original Utility Fee Survey in 2012 and subsequent fee surveys in 2015 and 2017. The survey was designed to research what fees utilities charge, how much they charge for each fee, and to see what trends, if any, are occurring with fees.
This is the third, and final, of three consecutive blog posts reporting the results of the 2019 Utility Fee Survey. 135 utilities, representing 22 states, ranging in size from 89 to 539,000 active accounts participated in the survey.
The first results issue summarized the demographics of the survey respondents as well as water and sewer tap and impact fees. The last issue dealt with delinquent fees and policies. Today’s issue is the third and final survey results issue and recaps all remaining fees.
Returned check fees
All 135 participating utilities charge a returned check fee ranging from $10.00 to $50.00, as this graph illustrates (clicking on any of the graphs will open a larger image in a new window):
Interestingly, only 83 (or 61.5%) of the responding utilities charge the maximum fee allowed by their state. 24 utilities (representing 17.8%) charge less than the maximum allowed and 28 (or 20.7%) charge more than the maximum allowed.
If you’re interested in seeing how your fee compares to the maximum allowed for your state, here is a table with all 50 states.
Application fees
In one of the earliest posts, I wrote about application service best practices. One of my recommendations was to charge a non-refundable application fee, in addition to any security deposit, to all new accounts. This year, 68 of the 135 utilities (representing 50.4%) responding to the survey charge such an application or administrative fee. This is up from 47.9% in 2017, but down from 51.9% in 2015 and 52.3% in 2012. These application fees range from $5.00 to $250.00 as shown below:
Transfer fees
This year, for the second time, the Utility Fee Survey asked how much utilities charge as a transfer fee for transferring service from one account to another. 62 of the 135 utilities (representing 45.9%) charge a transfer fee ranging from $5.00 to $100.00. This is up from 44.1% in 2017. Transfer fees charged by the responding utilities are shown in this graph:
Meter reread fees
28 of the 135 utilities (or 23.0%) charge a meter reread fee if the customer requests their meter be reread. This is down slightly from 23.7% in 2017 and 23.6% in 2015. In many cases, this fee is waived if it turns out the customer was correct and the utility misread the meter. Of the utilities that charge a meter reread fee, the fee ranges from $5.00 to $50.00, as this graph shows:
Meter tampering fees
101 of the 135 utilities (or 73.3%) charge a meter tampering fee. This is down from 77.1% in 2017 and 73.6% in 2015 but up from 60.2% in 2012. Seven utilities charge the actual cost of repairs or cost plus an administrative fee. One additional utility recovers their costs through the judicial system. Six utilities have an escalating fee that increases with each meter tampering offense. The remaining 87 utilities charge a flat fee ranging from $25.00 to $1000.00 as shown below:
Of the six utilities that charge an escalating fee, here are the charges for the first, second, and third offenses:
Convenience fees
One of my earliest issues explained why I believe utilities should accept credit cards. Of the 135 utilities responding to the survey, 122 of them (or 90.4%) accept credit cards. This is an increase from 89.0% in 2017, 81.1% in 2015, and 62.5% in 2012. Clearly, credit card acceptance has become standard practice for most utilities. Of the 122 that do accept credit cards, 85 (or 69.7%) of these charge a convenience fee on at least one method of credit card payments as shown below:
This is the second year the survey asked if the convenience fee is charged by the utility or by a third party. Of the 85 utilities that charge a convenience fee, 69 (or 81.2%) are charged by a third party as shown below. This is up from 69.4% in 2017.
The convenience fees charged by these utilities are too diverse in how they are assessed to be graphed, so they are presented here in a table.
Other fees
In addition to the fees that have been described in the three results issues, the survey asked what other fees utilities charge. Below I’ve listed a few of the more creative fees that were reported:
Meter test or calibration fee
At least 15 utilities charge a fee if the customer requests that their meter be tested or calibrated. The survey didn’t specifically ask about meter test fees however, most only charge the fee if the test results validate that the meter is registering correctly.
Return trip fee
When turning a meter on, most utilities will not leave the water on if the meter indicates water is running inside the house and no one is home. This requires the utility to make a return trip when the customer is home to turn the meter on again. Several utilities charge a return trip fee to cover the time and expenses involved in returning to the customer’s home.
Field collection fee
Most utilities have adopted the best practice of not collecting money in the field on cut-off day. At least one utility still allows customers to pay the field technician to avoid being cut off and they charge an additional $25.00 to provide that service.
A special offer
I still have a few slots left for the special offer I’m offering to the first five Utility Information Pipeline subscribers who respond. If you are one of the first five to respond, I will conduct a personalized fee consultation for one-third off the regular price. That’s $1,000 rather than the usual $1,500 price for this service!
I will review your utility’s current fee schedule and conduct an in-depth phone assessment to learn more about your fees. You will receive a presentation quality document illustrating how your fees compare with other utilities. Also included will be my recommendations for revising any existing fees and suggestions of new fees you should consider charging.
