Late payment details/due date

Please pay your bill in time to reach our office by the due date shown on the front of your bill. Unpaid gas amounts over $10 are charged a late payment fee of 1.5 percent (18 percent annual percentage rate) or $1 minimum on the next billing date shown on your bill.

Returned check charge

There will be a $10 charge for any check or Automatic Bank Draft payment your bank returns to us.

New balance

This is the difference between your previous balance and your payment, with any adjustments to your account, plus your current charges. If you are on Budget Plan, this amount is the difference between your Budget payments and your actual usage.

Basic charge and delivery charge

The parts of a customer's bill used to cover all of CenterPoint Energy's  expenses and earn a profit. These charges cannot be changed without the approval of the Minnesota Public Utilities commission.

• Basic charge: This partially covers fixed costs for reading meters, issuing bills, maintaining facilities and gas lines, postage, etc. These costs occur even if you do not use gas during a billing period.
• Delivery charge: This is the cost of delivering natural gas through the pipeline to your facility. You are charged only for the delivery of the amount of natural gas you use.

Cost of gas–commodity

This is the cost our suppliers charge us for the natural gas you use. CenterPoint Energy passes this cost directly onto you with no mark-up.

Cost of gas–demand

Costs incurred to guarantee that gas supply and pipeline capacity are available to meet the needs of firm customers, even on the coldest days of the year.

Purchased gas adjustment

This amount reflects the total difference between the base cost of gas established at the time of our last rate case in 2005 and the price paid to purchase and transport the gas you used during this billing period. This amount is included in the Cost of Gas figure.

Other charges

Charges and balances for reconnect charges, installations, and other non-gas items.

Meter readings, CCFs, therm factor

The difference between the current and previous meter readings shown measures the volume of gas you used in CCFs (hundreds of cubic feet). We multiply this difference by the therm factor to find total therms used. The therm factor adjusts gas volumes for heat content, delivery pressure and temperatures. Therms measure the heating value of gas; a therm equals 100,000 British thermal units.

Estimated bills

We try to read your meter regularly. Sometimes your meter is not read, and we estimate your bill. The estimate is based on past usage and weather for the current billing period. To help avoid estimates, you can read your own meter.