Billing Procedures

Based on your meter reading, your bill is calculated, printed, and mailed to the address you have given us. Should there be any error in this address, please contact us.

Bills are due and payable upon presentation-defined as "deposited in the mail". FAILURE TO RECEIVE YOUR BILL DOES NOT RELIEVE YOU OF YOUR OBLIGATION TO PAY. If you should fail to receive your bill at the normal time, please contact our office; our representative will arrange for a duplicate bill to be sent, or advise you of a satisfactory alternative.

Payments may be made by mail, using the self-addressed envelope, which is enclosed with your monthly bill, at the Alturas office, or at the payment depository (no cash) located at the front gate of the Alturas office. For Members living in Surprise Valley there is a drop payment box at the Senior Citizens Building in Cedarville. Lakeview members may drop off their payment at the front gate of the Lakeview office. And in Adin, there is a drop payment box at the Adin Community Park. Please return the payment stub with your payment to ensure your account is credited properly.

SVEC makes every effort to read your meter monthly. However, there may be occasions, primarily due to bad weather, locked gates, or unfriendly animals, when it becomes impossible for us to obtain a reading.

When an estimated bill becomes necessary, it is based upon your history of usage, if available, and it will be stated on the bill that usage for that period has been estimated.

Variations from your actual usage during the estimated month will self-adjust the next time we obtain the actual reading.

At times your bill may need to be prorated (figured for a portion of the billing period or figured at two different rates for the same billing month). In these instances the usage will be figured at the appropriate rates for each billing period.

An example of a time a bill would be prorated is when there is a customer change at the account. Customers that are in the account will receive a prorated bill for the portion of the month the account was in their name.

• Fluctuations in weather conditions.
• Changes in your consumption pattern-holiday cooking and baking, as well as houseguests increasing the number of showers and amount of laundry, will result in increased kWh usage.
• The number of days in the billing cycle - each monthly bill normally covers 30 days; however, holidays weekends, and the number of days in the month may cause the number of days to fluctuate.