Understanding Your Bill
For your payment convenience, PWC mails a monthly bill that provides detailed information on utility services. Graphs can help you manage your utility usage.
Sample PWC Bill | Payment Options | Customer Service FAQ | Utility Assistance Resources
Explanation of Bill Items
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- Kilowatt-Hour (kWh) – A kWh is equal to 1,000 watts of power used for one hour, or the equivalent of ten 100-watt light bulbs used for one hour.
- Kilowatt (kW) – The maximum rate of energy consumption recorded during any 15-minute interval within the monthly billing period. Primarily used in nonresidential service applications.
- Days of Service – The number of days of utility usage covered by this bill. Billing periods may vary from month to month and are typically 28-32 days.
- Basic Facility Charge – An investment per service that helps PWC cover the expenses of maintaining the overall utility system. These include maintaining over 49,000 power poles; 1,480 miles of power lines; 30 substations; 2,880 miles of water & sewer mains, equipment, meters, and billing. Nearly all utilities have a Basic Facility Charge for their services, but may not list it separately from the usage charges like PWC.
- Multiplier – Some customer meters require that the reading be multiplied by a certain factor to arrive at the actual usage.
- Estimated Readings (E) – If your current reading is followed by an E, this indicates the meter reading was estimated.
- Wholesale Power Cost Adjustment – Applied when power costs exceed or are less than projected wholesale power costs recovered by PWC adopted electric rates.
- NC Renewable Energy Rider – Costs associated with meeting NC Renewable Energy Mandates (Senate Bill 3).
