Translation:

Superior Water, Light & Power, an ALLETE Company

 

October Bill Update

Changes are coming to your bill

We’re making improvements to our meter read and billing cycle to shorten the time between when you use water, electric or natural gas services and when you are billed for that usage. This change in the usage/billing cycle will result in higher bills in October to reflect about two months of service instead of the typical 30 days. The 30-day billing schedule will resume in November.

Some background

The installation of automated meters in a billing system originally set up for manual meter reads increased the time between when your meter is read and when you are billed to more than four weeks. A one-time adjustment on your October bills will allow us to catch up and sync your usage with when you are billed. You’ll be able to see more current usage reflected in your monthly bill.

What to expect

Your October bill will include additional days in the billed usage period. This will allow us to complete the transition to the new billing cycle period but will result in a higher-than-normal bill for one month. If you are a Budget Billing customer, your monthly budget amount will not be impacted. If you are an Auto Pay customer, your bill amount will be drafted per your normal automatic payment schedule.

The tables below show the average residential customer's usage of all three utilities in a 30-day and a 58-day billing period. The average customer will see one-time increases of $74 to their electric bill, $32 to their gas bill and $46 to their water bill in October, or a total increase of about $152. After the typical 30-day billing schedule resumes in November, customers will see more recent, up-to-date usage reflected on monthly bills based on 30-day billing periods.

Bill Cycle Chart Bill Cycle Chart for 30 days. Bill Cycle Chart for 58 days.

Please note: The averages presented in the tables are examples only. Customers will be billed based on their actual usage.

How we can help

We know changes in your bill can be challenging, and we’re here to help with payment arrangements, questions or concerns. We will work with you to set up short-term payment plans or deferred payment arrangements. Please contact our Customer Service team at 1-800-227-7957.

We also encourage you to sign up for MyAccount, our online energy use and payment tool where you can track and manage your energy usage.

FAQ

We’re making improvements to our meter read and billing cycle to shorten the time between when you are billed and when you use water, electric or natural gas services. This change will result in higher bills in October when your bill will reflect about two months of service instead of the typical 30 days.
This one-time adjustment to your October bill is unrelated to any change in electric, natural gas or water rates. However, we have filed a request to increase rates to support continued investments in infrastructure improvements and higher costs of operations. Pending approval from the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, new rates will go into effect Jan. 1, 2025. Visit https://www.swlp.com/RateReview for more information.
Your bill is due 21 days from the bill date. We understand that a higher bill may be challenging, and some customers may need assistance. Please contact us to set up a payment arrangement before your bill is due or to verify that an existing payment arrangement is active.
If the balance is not paid in full by the day it’s due and no active payment arrangement has been established, any past due balance will be subject to late payment charges. To avoid a late payment charge, please contact us to set up a payment arrangement before your due date or to verify that an existing payment arrangement is active.
No. The typical 30-day billing schedule resumes in November, and you’ll see more recent, up-to-date usage reflected on your monthly bill.
No. This is a one-time adjustment on your October bills that will allow us to catch up and sync your usage with when you are billed. When the typical 30-day billing schedule resumes in November, you will continue to see the previous 30 days of usage reflected on your monthly bill.
If you are a Budget Billing customer, your monthly budget amount will not be impacted.
Non-metered services would not be impacted.
Your customer or fixed charges are calculated based on the number of days of usage in the bill period and prorated on a per day average.
Your monthly bill due date is not changing.
Your monthly bill date is not changing.
 

SWL&P’s parent company, ALLETE, has entered an agreement to be acquired by a partnership led by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Global Infrastructure Partners and start the process to become a private company.

This transaction will not change our operations, strategy or shared purpose and values, and it is business as usual for all of us at SWL&P. Learn more at www.ALLETEforward.com.