Rights & Responsibilities Billing Procedures

Rights & ResponsibilitiesYour gas usage is billed monthly based on either actual or estimated meter readings. Normally, your bill includes:

  • Basic monthly charge, regardless of usage
  • Charges for the quantity of gas used
  • The Purchased Gas Adjustment (PGA)
  • State Retail Sales Tax where applicable – A tax is assessed on customer’s usage by the State of Maryland in the form of sales tax on the dollar amount of the bill. The present rate is 5%. This tax is collected by the Company and forwarded to the proper jurisdiction. No sales tax is collected on residential accounts.

Your bill may also include:

Purchased Gas Adjustment

The Purchased Gas Adjustment (PGA) was established with the permission of the Maryland Public Service Commission and/or the Delaware Public Service Commission. The PGA provides for the collection or refund of increased or lowered prices that Chesapeake Utilities must pay its suppliers to purchase gas. The costs included in computing the PGA are gas costs only and are on a dollar for dollar basis without any profit for the company.

Customer Payment Policies

Your bill is based upon past usage, it is due when rendered. However, we provide a grace period of 20 days for the payment of the amount due with no late fees.

If for any reason you find it impossible to pay a bill on time, please contact our office immediately. In many cases, we can make special payment arrangements.

Residential Security Deposits

The purpose of a security deposit is to guarantee the payment of the final bill. The deposit is not intended to pay current bills, nor can it be used for that purpose. Placing a deposit is one way in which an applicant for gas service may establish his or her credit.

In lieu of a deposit, a new permanent residential applicant’s credit may be established on the basis of any one of several methods:

To Waive A Deposit

Residential Requirements:

  • Proof of home ownership at service premise
  • Copy of settlement papers or CCR may research local property appraisers
  • If Customer is sixty (60) years of age (unless they had previous service with us and do not have good paying history)
  • If a tenant provides a letter of employment for three (3) or more years on company letterhead.
  • If tenant provides an Acceptable Letter of Credit from a utility company with good payment history for the last 12 months.
  • If Customer has a previous account with us with a good payment history.

Non-Residential Requirements:

  • If a customer provides an Acceptable Letter of Credit from a utility company with good payment history for the last 12 months.
  • If they have a good credit history with Chesapeake Utilities.
  • Furnish a surety bond equal to the deposit.

An applicant who was formerly a customer of the company at another address may be required to place a deposit if the applicant had a poor payment record at the previous address or if the conditions under which the customer’s credit was originally established have materially changed.

If you have no deposit with us, you, as a customer, may be required to place a deposit if your gas has been disconnected for non-payment, or if payment of an overdue bill is not received by the expiration date of a turn-off notice rendered to you.

Building A New Home?

We can continue to serve your natural gas needs in your new home. As you begin to plan and design your new home, give us a call so we can assist you and your contractor with the installation of natural gas service from Chesapeake Utilities.
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