When an electric account with Victory Electric is created, an online credit risk tool is used to perform a "soft" utility credit check on all new residential members to determine if a deposit may be required.
The cooperative may require an initial deposit to guarantee payment of bills for utility service rendered if:
- The cooperative establishes an existing member has a poor bill payment history with the cooperative;
- The cooperative establishes a new member has an unsatisfactory soft utility credit rating;
- The member had a prior outstanding debt with the cooperative;
- The member has, in an unauthorized manner, interfered with, or committed a theft/diversion of electric service (meter tampering).
Service Fees and Charges
In addition to your monthly electric bill, the cooperative may assess fees and charges, payable by the member, for various operations processes required of the cooperative either prior to connection or reconnection, or during the time a member’s service(s) is active.
These fees are designed to help cover the cost of the cooperative’s personnel and the processing costs associated with disconnecting, connecting or reconnecting power. The cooperative may also assess special, reasonable and necessary fees to discourage abuse, and to minimize subsidy of such services by other cooperative members. Any services performed at member’s request-outside working hours may be charged a higher fee. Regular working hours are defined as 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except for the following holidays; New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, two days at Thanksgiving, and two days at Christmas.
* Please note: The fees and charges listed on victoryelectric.net or any printed materials distributed by Victory Electric are subject to change to keep the cooperative in compliance with state and federal laws and/or with rules and regulations established by the board of trustees of Victory Electric. Victory Electric reserves the right to change fees, service charges, and practices, of whatever kind, affecting members. The provisions of this site or printed materials distributed by the cooperative do not constitute a contract, express or implied, between any member and Victory Electric or its board of trustees.
- To open an account, the cooperative requires the name of the person responsible for payment of the account and a current, valid photo ID.
- Acceptable forms of identity verification include a driver’s license or other state/federal-issued photo identification.
- A social security number is requested to perform a soft utility credit check. If a SSN is not provided and we are unable to perform the soft utility credit check, the full deposit is required.
- Based on results of the soft utility credit check, the member may be assessed a deposit not to exceed the amount of the service location’s two (2) largest bills within the previous 12 months.
- Deposits cannot be put on a payment arrangement. They can be paid-in-full or paid in four (4) monthly installments with the first installment at the time of connection.
- For new services with no prior electric use history, i.e. new home build, the deposit will be $200 or $400 depending on credit check.
- The deposit is automatically applied to the members account and shows as a line on the member’s bill stating the deposit credit.
- Although a member may not pay an initial deposit, Victory Electric may, at any time after application for service, upon five (5) days written notice, require a new or modified deposit to guarantee payment of bills for utility service rendered if:
- The member fails to pay an undisputed bill before the bill due date for three (3) consecutive billing periods, one of which is at least 30 days late.
- The member was disconnected for non-payment two times within the most recent 12-month period.
- The member defaulted on a payment arrangement(s) two (2) times within the most recent 12-month period.
- The member tendered two insufficient funds (NSF) payments within the most recent 12-month period. The member will also be restricted to cash, credit card, or cashier’s check payments.
- The member sought debt-restructuring relief under federal bankruptcy laws. Within 60 days after the discharge of the bankruptcy, if the deposit on file is less than the maximum-security deposit requirement for the same premise, the cooperative may recalculate the member’s security deposit based on the most recent 12 months of electric use.
- If a member’s existing security deposit is adjusted or modified, the member’s maximum security deposit requirement will be calculated in the same manner as an initial deposit.
- If a member is caught diverting service (meter tampering), a deposit amount shall be established or increased by member’s projected largest three (3) month’s bill and will be required to be paid-in-full prior to service being re-established.
- To open an account, the cooperative requires the name of the person responsible for payment of the account and at least one form of positive identification, as well as the name of the business, type of business, and employer identification number (EIN) as issued by the Internal Revenue Service, if available.
- All commercial accounts are assessed a deposit, no credit check is done. The amount of the cash deposit required shall not exceed the amount of the service location’s two (2) largest bills within the previous 12 months.
- For new services with no prior electric use history, such as a newly built business building, the deposit will be $400 for small commercial and $800 for large commercial.
- Deposits can be paid-in-full or paid in two (2) monthly installments with the first installment at the time of connection.
- If a member has an existing commercial account with Victory Electric and that account is in good standing, no deposit is required, but it has to be another commercial account and no other type of account.
- The deposit is automatically applied to the members account and shows as a line item on the member’s bill stating the deposit credit.
- Although a member may not pay an initial deposit, Victory Electric may, at any time after application for service, upon five (5) days written notice, require a new or modified deposit to guarantee payment of bills for utility service rendered if:
- The member fails to pay an undisputed bill before the bill due date for three (3) consecutive billing periods, one of which is at least 30 days late - the first day of the late period is the first day after the due date on the bill.
- The member was disconnected for non-payment two times within the most recent 12-month period.
- The member tendered two (2) insufficient funds payments within the most recent 12-month period. The member will also be restricted to cash, credit card, or cashier’s check only payments.
- The member sought debt-restructuring relief under federal bankruptcy laws. Within 60 days after the bankruptcy is discharged, if the deposit on file is less than the maximum-security deposit requirement for the same premise, the cooperative may recalculate the member’s security deposit based on the most recent 12 months of electric use.
- If a member’s existing security deposit is adjusted or modified, the member’s maximum security deposit requirement will be calculated in the same manner as an initial deposit.
- If a member is caught diverting service (meter tampering), a deposit amount shall be established or increased by member’s projected largest three (3) month’s bill and will be required to be paid-in-full prior to service being re-established.
For new residential members, there are options to waive payment of a deposit:
- Pass a “soft” utility credit check. A Victory Electric member services representative will run the credit check at no cost to the member.
- Provide Victory Electric with a letter of credit from your previous electric utility provider showing at least the last 12 consecutive months of service and good payment history. This means no late payments and no disconnect for nonpayment in the previous 12-month period.
- Any new member applicant or existing member may elect to enroll in our PowerMyWay program. PowerMyWay is a self-managed, pay-as-you-go billing plan with no deposits, no late fees, and no disconnect or reconnect charges. Pay $50 dollars toward future electricity and then pay as much or as little as you want on an as-needed basis.
- An existing member electing to participate in PowerMyWay may have the security deposit on record applied as a credit toward your future energy use.
- An established residential member adding additional electric services in his/her name will not be required to pay an additional deposit if the member is considered in good standing. This means no late payments and no disconnect for nonpayment in the previous 12-month period.
Commercial and Industrial Accounts:
- Deposits can be waived if the member provides a surety bond, irrevocable letter of credit, or a letter of credit from a prior electric utility provider for the most recent 12 consecutive months. The letter of credit must be for another commercial account you previously or currently own. Surety bonds are required to be renewed annually.
The cooperative will maintain a record of all deposits received and amount of interest paid to members.
Deposits are nontransferable from one member to another member; however, upon termination of the member’s service at the service address, the cooperative may transfer the deposit to the member’s new active account.
Security deposits paid to the cooperative by any payment method approved for the payment of bills (cash, check, credit card, debit card or electronic payment, etc.) shall be considered as paid in cash to the cooperative and accrue interest.
Upon termination of service and proper settlement of the final bill, if the deposit is not to be transferred to a new account, the member will receive a full refund, plus interest, on the deposit. The cooperative may apply the deposit to any unpaid bills, and if any balance remains, it will then be refunded to the member.
Residential
Deposits taken from residential members shall either be credited with interest to their utility bills or, if requested, refunded, if the member pays on time for 12 consecutive months and no undisputed bill was unpaid after 30 days beyond due date. If a payment is late, the 12 months starts over, as the months have to be consecutive.
Small commercial
Deposits taken from small commercial members shall either be credited with interest to their utility bills or, if requested, refunded, if the member pays on time for 24 consecutive months and no undisputed bill was unpaid after 30 days beyond due date. If a payment is late, the 24 months starts over, as the months have to be consecutive.
*** If a member questions his/her deposit amount, he/she can request his/her deposit amount be recalculated at any time. A recalculation may increase or decrease the maximum deposit requirement.
Large commercial and Industrial
The cooperative retains security deposits from large commercial and industrial members until termination of service or change in ownership.
A bill shall be deemed delinquent if Victory Electric does not receive a payment by 5 p.m., on the due date stated on the bill. When a bill becomes delinquent, a 2% late payment fee will be assessed for the delinquent amount owed, and collection efforts by the cooperative shall be initiated. When the bill due date falls on Saturday or Sunday, the bill is due the next business day by 5 p.m.
A service charge, or remote reconnection fee, of $40 is required when a member’s service is reconnected during regular working hours. There is no charge for reconnecting service due to power failure.
This $200 fee is assessed, at the sole discretion of the cooperative, when a member’s service is disconnected for nonpayment and reconnection is made after regular office hours.
Whenever a three-phase service is disconnected for nonpayment and a trip is made by the cooperative to the member’s premises, a charge of $200 is assessed. A manual reconnect requires personnel time, equipment and procedures. The fee covers labor costs, system maintenance and vehicle-related expenses.
A $30 fee is required for any check returned by the bank for insufficient funds. Victory Electric notifies the member via phone call or letter that they have 10 days to make a payment to include all associated fees plus the bill amount, or be subject to disconnection. Extensions will not be given for payment on a returned check or rejected payment. Members with two (2) returned payments will be placed on cash-only payment status for 12 months, and may be charged an additional deposit.
This $100 fee is charged to a member who requests a meter test. Each account received one free meter test per year.
If Victory Electric discovers a member causes or permits unauthorized theft, tampering or diversion of utility service (meter bypass), a $250 fee will be assessed. The cooperative will disconnect service immediately and before reconnection can occur, the member will be required to pay all fees, deposit, expenses for repairs and/or replacement of damaged meter equipment, and the estimated amount of electric service not recovered by the meter. Meter tampering is considered theft and police reports will be filed. When people steal utility services, they endanger lives and take money out of your pocket. Victory Electric must recover losses due to theft through the rates paid by its honest members. If you see or know of meter tampering or of an individual receiving benefit of stolen service, please call us or law enforcement. The information will be handled confidentially.
When a member requests to reconnect a service previously disconnected within 12 months, the cooperative will assess a $200 Abandoned Service Reconnection Fee. For example, a member has a meter on their property only used by a family member who lives in a camper during the May to September summer months. The member wants to turn off the meter October through April when not in use. In this case, the member will be charged a $200 fee to reconnect. Victory Electric still has the expense of maintaining the electric line and infrastructure (fixed costs typically recovered through the service availability charge) for that meter service year around so it is ready to be turned on each May.
When a member requests a meter(s) installation outside the cooperative’s typical installation parameters, the cooperative reserves the right to identify the associated costs with the non-standard installation and assess a one-time fee, a recurring monthly fee, or both. For example, in the event a member opts out of an automated digital meter installation, a monthly recurring manual meter-reading fee of $100 is assessed. Manual meter reading requires personnel time, equipment or procedures that other “standard” services do not. The fee covers the labor costs, system maintenance and vehicle-related expenses associated with a manual meter reading.
When a member requests temporary service as defined in Schedule T-17, fees for construction and removal of facilities may apply in addition to the fees described in the schedule. The fee amount varies and is based on estimated material and labor rates to construct and deconstruct the project. This charge applies to circuses, carnivals, fairs, new construction services, and the like.