Utilities signup underway in base housing

  • Published
  • By Demettra Maxwell
  • Eagle heights marketing
Dover Air Force Base, Del --  Eagle Heights housing held an advanced Utitlities Sign Up event at Dover Nov. 13.

594 base housing residents have stopped by the Eagle Heights Community Center to sign up for the new utility billing so far.

Starting Jan. 2, 2009, Eagle Heights residents will be responsible for paying utility bills directly to Chesapeake Gas and Dover Electric.

Residents will receive their last bill from Ista in January 2009. The bills for December 2008 will be calculated based on historical data, rather than actual usage, to ensure their arrival date.

On Jan. 2, the individual home meters will be read, and the accounts will switch from Pinnacle to the resident. The bills the residents receive in late January and early February should be paid directly to Chesapeake Gas and Dover Electric, respectively.

"It's a much easier way for everyone involved. It gets the bills to the residents in real time and if people conserve their energy they will not have to wait for ISTA to pay them back, they will have that money instantly," said Chris Radziewicz, Pinnacle Housing Director.

In most privatized housing, residents are responsible for direct payment of their utility bills. Residents who pay on time on a consistent basis will help build their credit ratings, ratings that may later have a direct impact for obtaining lower interest rates on credit cards, and their ability to buy a home.

Those who build good credit with utility companies can also lower or eliminate deposits required for account initialization the next time they move. For Eagle Heights, Pinnacle persuaded Chesapeake Gas and Dover Electric to waive all deposits for both existing and future residents that would have been required for establishment of individual military resident accounts.

Eagle Heights residents currently transfer the full amount of their Basic Allowance for Housing - which includes a utility allowance - to Dover Air Force Base Properties LLC each month. Under this new program, residents retain their utility allowance to pay their bills. What's more, the utility allowance residents will receive is actually the average consumption for their floor plan plus 10 percent, as established by the Department of the Air Force utility policy.

The Eagle Heights Community Center will be holding another utility sign up event Dec. 4 from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.