Billing Procedures

The basic measure for electricity is the kilowatt-hour (kWh). One kWh is the amount of electrical energy required to operate a 100-watt light bulb for ten hours.

Your electric bill shows how many kilowatt-hours are used, as measured by PUD 3's electrical meter at your house or business. This is similar to the odometer on your car. The meter continuously 'counts' the amount of kilowatt hours used.

Your electric bill is based on the amount of kilowatt-hours used (multiplied by the per kilowatt hour rate), plus a system charge.

The PUD calculates energy consumption with solid-state watt-hour meters and receives a reading from your meter on a daily basis. You can check your daily usage on the PUD 3 SmartHub app, online, or read your own meter to monitor your consumption.

To read your meter, simply look at the digital display on the meter for the number of Kwh used since your meter was installed. Compare that number to the number displayed on your previous bill. The display will scroll through different registers, so wait until the letters on the left read "KWH." The difference between the two reads is the amount of electricity the home used since the last billing.

In some cases, meter readings are estimated, and "Estimated Statement" is printed on the customer's bill.

In these cases, the billing system will estimate a customer's usage based on the length of the billing cycle, previous usage for corresponding billing periods, and PUD staff may make adjustments based on other factors and weather conditions.

If an estimated bill is issued, any difference between estimated and actual usage will automatically be corrected on the next bill when an actual read is obtained.