Account Maintenance Fee

History:

In the spring of 1991, the Prince George's and Montgomery County Councils directed a study of the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission's financing practices. At the time, all operating costs for water and sewer were recovered through a "100-step" increasing rate structure. One objective of the study was to examine whether costs were shared equitably among customers. The results indicated that 85% of our customers were paying less than the average cost of service. Those customers with higher water consumption were paying too much for account maintenance services; those with lower consumption were paying nothing at all for these services. Certainly, this arrangement was not equitable for all of our customers.

In the summer of 1991, the Montgomery and Prince George's County Councils formed a working group to consider ways to recover the cost of providing water and sewer services. The group's recommendations included revising the rate structure and adding an "account maintenance fee."

Revised Rate Structure - A "16-step" structure replaced the previous "100-step" structure. Many steps were combined and new ones added at the highest levels of daily consumption. In the interest of fairness, the "service charge," now known as the "account maintenance fee," was removed from the rate structure and included as a separate charge billed to each customer's account beginning in 1992.

Account Maintenance Fee - This fee, previously included in the water/sewer rate structure, removed the costs unrelated to consumption from the rate base and distributed them more evenly among customers. The amount charged varies according to the size of the meter serving the property.

Purpose:

The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission is a non-profit, public utility. Our rates produce only the revenues needed to support services and operations. The account maintenance fee, which is authorized by the Annotated Code of Maryland, defrays the expenses and overhead associated with maintaining an account. These expenses include the cost of purchasing and reading meters; processing readings; generating and mailing bills; collecting payments; and providing customer services. Customer service costs involve:

• Providing representatives to answer telephone, written, and in-person inquiries;
• Inspecting household plumbing;
• Testing, repairing and replacing meters; and
• Maintaining meter pits.

Philosophy:

Without regard to the volume of water consumed or the amount of sewage generated, services are available uniformly to all customers. Ideally, the account maintenance fee ensures that revenue will be received to cover the cost of customer services and meter maintenance. The fee increases as the meter size does because it is more costly to purchase and maintain larger meters.

Account maintenance for residential customers costs approximately $44 each year, or $11 each quarter. This $11 fee fully recovers our current maintenance costs associated with a customer's account.

Billing Information:

The account maintenance fee appears on each regular monthly, quarterly, or biannual bill; it does not apply to submeters or interconnect meters. "Account maintenance fees" have not changed for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1997, and are listed below:

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