What Happens When I Don't Pay My Electricity or Gas Bill?

Electricity and gas suppliers have the right to disconnect your service when you do not pay your bills. However, the government of Alberta has also put in regulation to help Albertans who cannot pay their bills keep connection under certain circumstances. Find out what happens and what options you have when you cannot pay your utility bills.

What Happens if I don't Pay My Bills?

Whether for electricity or gas, most energy retailers pursue the same line of action when customers do not pay their bills:

1. If a bill is not paid, the balance owing will be subject to a late payment fee, which will be added to the following month's bill, along with the unpaid amount
2. After a certain delay has passed (usually 20 - 30 days after the due date of the unpaid bill), the company will call and/or send a written notice notifying the customer that the bill has not been paid, and requesting payment within a certain time period (usuallly around a week of the notice)
3. The company will call again and/or send another written notice if the customer does not contact them within the deadline, this time usually to give warning of upcoming service disconnection
4. If no satisfactory payments are arranged, or if the customer does not contact the company within this time, the company may contact the wires services provider to disconnect service, usually at no further notice to the customer. The customer will have to pay the amounts owing, plus a reconnection fee to the utility to have service again.
5. The company may use a collection agency to recover the costs from the customer. They will likely charge the customer for these collection costs, in addition to the accumulated late payment fees.
6. If the customer continues not to pay, the company may decide to discontinue service, and may use the security deposit that the customer paid when opening the account to pay for the unpaid charges
7. In extreme cases, the company may pursue legal action

Agreements with utilities are considered "unsecured credit agreements", meaning that you can receive credit without promising security. Unsecured creditors are allowed to sue you if you don’t pay your bills

You should get in touch with your energy supplier as soon as possible if you think you will have difficulty paying your bills, or if you receive a non-payment notice from them. Most energy companies will make special payment arrangements with customers who have difficulty paying the full amount of their bills, which could save you disconnection or a poor credit rating.

Electricity

The Distribution Tariff Regulation of the Electric Utilities Act, 2003 requires electricity distribution companies (wire services providers) to maintain service to all residential (and farm) customers during winter months, even if they do not pay their bills. Specifically, a distribution company cannot disconnect customers for non-payment between October 15 and April 15th, or at any time when the temperature is forecast to be below 0°C. However, the distribution company can install a limiter on the meter of customers who have not paid their bills, which limits the amount of energy that the customer can consume.

What is a Limiter?

A limiter is a device that is installed on your meter in order to limit the amount of electricity that you can consume. An electricity distribution company will install a limiter on your meter if you have not paid your bills and are threatened with disconnection during winter months. The limiter will allow just enough electricity for your furnace and a few lights to run. If you try to use more electricity, the limiter will turn off, much like a breaker. To restart your access to electricity, you will have to reduce your electricity use at the time and reset the limiter on your meter.
There are three common types of limiters:

• Limiters that have a reset buttom on the bottom of the device
• A limiter that looks like a breaker, so that you need to pull down the knob to reset it, and then push it back up to activate it
• Limiters connected to remote meters will automatically (and remotely) be reset 15 minutes after the limiter has been tripped (but only if you have reduced your electricity consumption)

While your local wire services provider is obliged to continue your electricity service in cold weather, they will likely disconnect you in the spring if you do not pay your bills throughout the winter. You will be charged a service reconnection fee to get your electricity connection back.

Gas

The terms and conditions of natural gas distribution companies (AltaGas Utilities and ATCO Gas) state that they will not disconnect gas service for customer non-payment during winter months (between November 1st and April 14th), nor when temperatures are forecast to drop below 0 between April 15th and October 31st. Natural gas distribution companies will only disconnect service during winter months if they receive a written request from the property owner.

Where Can I Get Help?

The Utilities Consumer Advocate has published a list of agencies and organizations that can provide financial assistance for Albertans who have difficulty paying their bills.