Front of Bill

Back of Bill

Glossary of Charges

Billing Summary Detail*: The following line items may appear on a typical residential monthly electric bill. Your Billing Summary may include, but may not be limited to, these items:

*For members enrolled in programs like Budget Billing or Net Metering, or on rates like SmartChoice, Time-of-Day or Commercial/Industrial, your bill will look different than this typical residential bill. If you have additional questions, contact a United Power Member Services Representative at 303-637-1300.

A summary of activity since your last statement which details any payments received, credits, adjustments or fees.

  • Previous Balance: reflects any balance forward from the previous month.
  • Deposits/Fees/Late Charges: any fees, charges or deposits assessed since the last bill.
  • Payments Received: any payments received by United Power by the due date.
  • Balance Forward: if your bill was not paid in full, this is the remaining balance due.
  • Past Due Balance: if you did not pay by the due date, this is the total amount past due.

This section outlines billing activity over the current billing period including energy and demand charges, fees, taxes and credits. Your bill may include the following items:

  • Energy Charge: the total energy used over that billing period measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh) multiplied by the per kWh rate. Some rates include both on-peak and off-peak energy charges.
  • Demand Charge: the highest 15-minute interval of consumption over the billing period measured in kilowatts (kW) and multiplied by the per kW rate. Some rates have more than one demand charge and in that case, both charges will be detailed here.
  • Lighting/Shared Lighting: energy and equipment charges for any utility-maintained lighting at the service location.
  • Fixed Charge: a fixed monthly charge to cover a portion of the costs for billing, collections, member services, and metering. These are costs that are incurred by all members regardless of the amount of energy used.
  • Franchise Fee: depending on where you live, you may be charged a city fee based on a percentage of your monthly electric usage. United Power does not make a profit on the collection of these fees. This a pass-through cost, from the customers within a city’s jurisdiction to that city, as a requirement of our franchise agreement with that city.
  • Sales Tax: taxes applied to your bill are based on state and local sales tax rates for your service location.
  • Green Power Investment: this is an optional program for members who wish to invest additional dollars into renewable energy. The Green Power Partners Program is sold in block of 100 kilowatt-hours and charged at the current per kWh rate.
  • Credits/Rebates/Refunds: any credits due, rebates earned or refunds such as Capital Credits will be reflected in your billing detail and applied to the total due amount.
  • Round-Up: members enrolled in Operation Round-Up elect to have their monthly bills rounded up to the next whole dollar. This donation, an average of just 50 cents per month, is distributed to non-profit organizations within our service territory.
  • Current Month: your current monthly total due, including all taxes and fees.
  • Total Due: this total includes any balance forward or past due amounts plus the current month’s total charges.

Member bills are due and payable within twenty days from the date billed. If a member fails to pay the current month’s bill before the next billing period, that bill shall be considered delinquent, a late fee will be assessed and a Notice of Service Disconnection shall be mailed to the address of record. If payment is not received by the specified date on the notice, disconnection will proceed and a reconnection fee and deposit will be charged.