Billing
Once you become a member of McLean Electric, you will have an account number for billing purposes. The statements are mailed the last working day of each month. These bills are due upon receipt of the statement.
McLean Electric bills one month behind, for example, the statement date of January 31st is for the energy used in December. Readings should be taken when statements are received. If no payment is received, the account may be subject to disconnection. If you cannot pay your bill on time, please call us, payment arrangements can be made.
Payment Options
In person: McLean Electric is located east of Garrison on Highway 37.
NEW PAYMENT OPTION:
By credit card: We can take a payment in person, by phone or on E-Bill.
By mail: You can send your payment by mail. Our mailing address is: McLean Electric Cooperative, P.O. Box 399, Garrison, ND 58540-0399.
Drop Box: A drop box is located at the front entrance of the office building and there is another drop box you can drive up to-behind the big evergreen, to the left as you come in the driveway.
Budget Billing: McLean Electric offers budget billing to its consumers. Budget billing allows you to pay the same dollar amount each month. Your budget payment amount is reviewed periodically and if necessary adjusted to reflect your energy usage or changes in the cost of electricity.
Energy Assistance: Government energy assistance is available for qualified low-income customers. For more information, call your local social service agency or our office at (701) 463-2291 or (800) 263-4922.
Automatic Payment Plan
McLean Electric has a very convenient way to pay your electric bill that we would like for you to know about. It’s our automatic payment plan where you don’t have to worry about writing out a check each month or wondering if you have paid your electric bill. This is offered at no charge to you.
How it works? Give us a call or stop by the office and ask for our authorization form. Fill it out and return with a voided check and your monthly payment will be automatically withdrawn around the 7th of each month. You will still receive your monthly statement the beginning of each month to indicate what the deduction will be and it will also be shown on your bank statement each month. You can also use a credit card for your automatic payment if you choose-just call our office to set up.
It will still be necessary for you to either send in your readings each month or you can also call them in, many consumers already using the payment plan will call in readings. If you are out of the local calling area we have an 800 number: (800)263-4922.
Customer Charge
Lately there have been many inquiries concerning the customer charge printed on the new billing statements. This charge is not new. It was included in your monthly KWH total when the 3"x5" post cards were used for billing. Unfortunately, the post card system did not allow the breakdown of individual charges such as the customer charge. Beginning with the January 29, 1999 billing statement, McLean Electric Cooperative, Inc. converted to a new billing system and now has the ability to break down and list different charges or fees.
The customer charge is a base charge per month billed whether or not any electricity is used. It provides a service of having electricity available to your location when you need it. There are times when you require work done on the power lines in your yard or area, or maybe a meter isn't working properly. The customer charge covers the cost of lineman to fix these problems without additional charges to your account.
Estimated Reading Charge
Every month it is the consumers responsibility to send or call in a meter reading for each meter you have. McLean Electric always bills a month behind so if no reading is received by the 20th of each month an estimated reading will be automatically calculated by the system because we will be working on the next months billing. For each meter that a consumer has and no reading sent there is a $2.50 charge assessed.
It is important to send or call readings in each month. For example if an account goes without an actual reading for more than 60 days the system may estimate very high and overcharge compared to what you may have actually used. This may make it difficult to pay the bill when received and cause delinquencies. If the system estimates too low and then 60 days later you call or send an actual reading, again there may be a very large bill to contend with.
Sometimes it may be difficult to get to a meter to read it, such as during the winter months, if this should happen please don’t just write down a reading because it may be too high. Please call and we can either bill you the minimum customer charge and catch up next month or we can figure out an average and we would be alerted to the situation.
If more than 60 days go by without an actual reading, the meter will be read by the Cooperative and a $25.00 fee will be charged to your bill. Please read your meters, this will save you money and many problems in correcting the problem of incorrect readings later. If you ever have any questions, please call (701) 463-2291 or (800) 263-4922.
E-Bill
McLean Electric Cooperative E-Bill system gives you the ability to instantly view information about your bill from your home or any place that you can access the Internet. Not only can you view your current amount billed, you can also view your payment history, usage history and monthly graphical comparisons. If a record is needed of your monthly bill you can simply print it. E-Bill allows you to go on line and view your previous electrical bills. Each month when your E-Bill is ready we send you an e-mail telling you your bill is ready to be viewed.
How does this work? E-Bill is simply your utility bill in an e-mail format. Once signed up you can choose to receive your E-Bill and a paper copy or you can go to "users options" and select NOT to receive a paper billing. Once you have choosen the paperless option, print the mail-in-stub and send to our office along with your payment. You may also send your meter reading(s) via E-Bill. Go to E-Bill now to sign up!