Rock Hill residents say high city utility bills are putting them ‘in a bind’
A choice between food, rent or keeping the lights on. That’s what a Rock Hill resident said some of her peers are facing due to high utility bills.
Rock Hill native Kristal Jennings said she and other residents are trying to get answers. Jennings said at one point her bill was more than $550.
“It’s not just me,” Jennings said. “It’s hurting the residents. People are really in a bind with this utility thing.”
Jessica Jennings, a Rock Hill resident, was billed for more than $6,000, reports WCNC-TV in Charlotte. Her bill included 83 days of service. Rock Hill Deputy City Manager Steve Gibson said in cases such as those the city will work with the resident to identify and resolve the issue.
Residents shared their concerns during the Rock Hill city council’s meeting on Jan. 14, reports Fox 46 Charlotte. City council approves the city’s rates as part of the budget, said Jimmy Bagley, deputy city manager for Rock Hill.
“My light bill shouldn’t be $650 and my rent $650,” one woman told the station. “I’m supposed to feed my babies. The struggle is real.”
Rock Hill utility bills include more than electricity charges, said Katie Quinn, communications manager for the City of Rock Hill. She said they typically also include water, sewer, stormwater and sanitation services.
“Comparing a Rock Hill utility bill to someone’s Duke Energy or York Electric Cooperative bill isn’t an accurate comparison since those bills are just for electric,” Quinn said in a statement.
Bagley said he can’t share private information on specific cases but said high bills may reflect combined missed payments or can be due to issues such as water leaks. He said if there is a mistake, the city will work with the resident to correct it.
Jennings said some residents have taken their bills to city council looking for answers. She said, while some do include past due amounts, the total is concerning.
“Per the city manager, a monthly bill should range between $212 to $278 a month, meaning that even if a utility bill has a past due balance, the combined total should be no more than $550,” Jennings wrote in an e-mail to The Herald.
Jennings said residents are seeing bills of more than $600 and in the thousands.
David Vehaun, Rock Hill city manager, said the city monitors every bill that goes out. If a bill shows abnormally high consumption the city typically sends someone to check the meter.
“There is almost always some sort of water leak that occurs,” Vehaun said.
Vehaun said if the issue is something like a water leak, the city typically adjusts the customer’s bill for one month and notifies them to get it resolved.
Bagley said bills tend to go up in the warmer and the colder months. He said factors such as the energy efficiency of a home, how many people live there and preferences on temperature affect the bill total.
“It happens every winter; it happens every summer,” Bagley said.
Jennings said another concern is inconsistent meter checks, resulting in some residents being billed for longer cycles.
Some residents may see extra days on a bill if they are switched to a new meter system, Bagley said. He said most bills will include about 30 days of use.
The city is working to switch customers to self-reporting readers, Bagley said. Those readers provide continuous reports, allowing the resident to see their use in real time and the city to quickly respond to outages or other issues. The city will provide more information on the readers in a few months, Bagley said.
“Unfortunately in the process, there are some customers whose bills have a few extra days on it due to the change-out,” he said.
Quinn said part of why residents might be seeing high bills is due to older homes that aren’t energy efficient. Rock Hill utilities, a municipally owned system, has not raised electric rates in the last few years, she said. Quinn said no rate increase is planned through 2022.
“Nothing has changed recently but when it gets cold, consumption goes up since heating systems have to work harder to keep up,” she said. “Running a space heater costs about $5 per day because of how much power it draws. Renters should work with their landlords to ensure central heating and air systems are in good working order, and homes are as energy efficient as possible.”
At 12.9 cents per kilowatt hour, Rock Hill’s electricity rate is lower than the country’s average, Quinn said.
As of Dec. 17, 2018, the average price a United States resident pays for electricity is 13.11 cents per kWh and the average price for a South Carolina resident is 12.9 cents per kWh, according to ElectricChoice.com, an electric service provider that offers state-by-state comparisons of rates. The site is run by Eisenbach Consultant, LLC, an energy management and procurement company.
“Utility costs are most directly affected by consumption — the amount of water and electricity you use each month,” Quinn said in a prepared statement. “For electric, the greatest contributor to consumption is heating and cooling the home. Heating and cooling systems have to run much more to keep homes at the set temperature during extreme outside temperatures.”
In the winter, Quinn said, residents can lower their electricity usage by about 20 percent by setting the thermostat at 68 degrees instead of 73 degrees, and in summer, they can save about 27 percent by adjusting air conditioning from 72 to 78 degrees.
Concerned residents should call 803-329-8729 for questions regarding their bills.
“Our staff is always happy to review bills with customers privately to help identify what might be contributing to higher consumption, or other factors affecting bill amounts,” Quinn said in a prepared statement.
Jennings said residents would like more transparency on how their bills are calculated.
“It’s a huge problem, and we are trying to figure it out together,” she said.
Need help?
- Project Hope in Rock Hill offers help to residents struggling to pay their utility bills. For more information, call 803-328-8000 or E-mail projecthope@comporium.net.
- Residents can meet with city staff to discuss their bills. The meetings are going to be held at the city’s Housing and Neighborhood Services Division, 150 Johnston Street, on select dates. The dates are: Jan. 30 at 2:30 p.m., Jan. 31 at 10:30 a.m., Feb. 6 at 2 p.m., Feb. 13 at 2 p.m. and Feb. 14 at 2 p.m. The meetings are by appointment only. To make an appointment, call 803-329-8729.
- The City of Rock Hill offers money saving tips on its website.
This story was originally published January 24, 2019 at 1:42 PM.
