Danville utilities provides answers to questions from the last Danville utility commission meeting

DANVILLE,Va. – People in Danville have been voicing their concerns and complaints about their utility bills, and Monday Danville Utilities responded to their questions.

Nineteen answers were posted Monday to questions asked by the community. Here are some of those questions and answers.

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How can the low income, fixed income and elderly afford to pay a higher utility bill just because the city purchased electric that was way out of range for this area?
The average residential City of Danville customer (1,000 kWh) pays $18.52 more per month for power than the average for customers of Appalachian Power, Martinsville, Dominion and Mecklenburg. Several years ago, the City of Danville made a decision to purchase power and participate in generation projects that officials, at that time, believed would be in the best interests of its customers. The City is taking steps to bring the average costs for power in line with nearby utilities, but this process will take time. There are programs established through Social Services to assist eligible low-income parents, elderly and disabled ratepayers. 

A petition that went live almost a month ago now has over 6,000 signatures requesting an investigation into the power rates. 

Why does the customer have to pay $50 for the city to come out and check the meter when the meters belong to the city?
A fee of $60 is charged to customers requesting a field investigation of an electric meter.  The fee represents the cost to dispatch field personnel to a customer location. If a technician determines that the meter is faulty, the fee is waived

The conversation on utility bills will continue with another meeting on March 26 at 4 p.m. with the Danville Utility Commission.The full list of questions and answers can be found here.