Budget Billing

Some customers find it difficult to pay their winter heating bills when demand for natural gas usage goes up. If you find yourself in this situation, and you have been a customer for one year, call the office and ask to be put on budget billing. While it is possible to be put on a budget plan if you’ve been a customer less than one year, your budgeted amount is likely to be less accurate.

Budget billing stabilizes your monthly natural gas charges by making your monthly charge the same. Leatherstocking will calculate your average annual usage and divide that by 12 to get an average, monthly billing charge.

At least a couple of times throughout the year, your usage is “trued-up” or reviewed to see if you overpaid or underpaid. If you overpaid, we will credit your account. If you have underpaid, you will receive a bill that is higher than the budgeted amount. If the trued-up bill is significantly higher or lower than what was budgeted, we will recalculate your monthly budgeted amount with your permission to reflect your actual usage.

Factors that affect your actual usage may vary from year to year. Things like colder or warmer weather, changing how high or low you keep your thermostat, adding an addition to your home, or perhaps not heating certain areas of your house that you used to heat, for example, can all change your usage.

If you’re concerned about paying higher winter utility bills, call Leatherstocking Gas today and ask to be put on a budget billing plan.