Over the course of the past few months, I’ve been conducting the 2025 Utility Fee Survey. This is the sixth Utility Fee Survey, dating to 2015, with subsequent fee surveys in 2017, 2019, 2021, and 2023. The survey was designed to research what fees utilities charge, how much they charge for each fee, and to see what trends, if any, are occurring with fees.

The Utility Fee Survey is a biennial survey, alternating years with the Utility Staffing Survey.

As was the case in each of the previous surveys, the results include too much information for a single issue. If you’re interested, you can see the results from the previous Utility Fee Surveys here.

The last blog post summarized the demographics of the survey respondents as well as water and sewer tap and impact fees. Today’s post deals with delinquent fees and policies. The next blog post will be the third and final survey results issue and will recap all remaining fees.

Late fees

Of the 124 participating utilities, 121 charge a late fee. As shown by this graph, charging a late fee as a percentage of the bill is by far the most popular method (clicking on any of the graphics will open a larger image in a new window):

Compared to the 2023 Utility Fee Survey, utilities charging a percentage late fee increased (62.1% vs. 54.1%). Those charging a flat amount are down (27.4% vs. 33.0%). Also seeing a decrease are utilities charging something other than a percentage or flat amount (down from 11.0% to 8.1%).

Utilities that assess a late fee as a percentage charge from 1% to 25%, with 10% the most popular by a very wide margin, as this graph depicts:

Late fees range from $5.00 to $60.00 for utilities charging a flat amount. This graph illustrates the late fee flat amounts:

Six of the utilities (down from 7 in 2023, but 15 in 2021) charge a hybrid late fee – a combination of a percentage with a minimum amount. Here is a graph showing what they charge:

Four utilities charge a base amount plus a percentage, as shown below:

While not technically a fee, this year’s survey again asked how, other than the utility bill, each utility notifies customers that a late fee or penalty has been applied. Here are the responses to that question (the total of all responses is greater than the number of participating utilities because some utilities use multiple notification methods):

Cut-off or reconnect fees

Six of the 124 utilities do not cut off for non-payment. The remaining 118 that do cut off for non-payment all charge a cut-off or reconnect fee as a flat amount. Two of the responding utilities charge an escalating cut-off fee whereby the more times a customer is on the cut-off list, the higher the fee becomes. In those cases, the amount shown in the graph is for first offenders. Additionally, three of the utilities charge a separate disconnect fee and reconnect fee. In those cases, the graph represents the combined total of both fees. Finally, two additional utilities charge a cut-off fee per service. In those cases, the graph assumes all services are being disconnected.

Cut-off or reconnect fees charged by the 118 utilities range from $15.00 to $225.00, as shown below:

Of the 118 utilities that cut off for non-payment, 84 of them (representing 71.2%) assess the cut-off fee as soon as the cut-off list leaves the office. The percentage of utilities charging the cut-off fee immediately is down 5.6% from the 2023 Utility Fee Survey:

Cut-off fee terminology

As utilities adopt the best practice of charging the cut-off fee as soon as the cut-off list leaves the office, many are finding that terms such as “cut-off fee”, “disconnect fee”, or “reconnect fee” are becoming outdated. For that reason, the survey asked what each utility calls its cut-off fee. The results are displayed in the following chart:

Shown below are the number of responses for each term, including the 23 terms included in the “Other” category. The terms in bold are terms that do not state or imply disconnect or reconnect, which I highly recommend.

Again this year, Reconnect Fee is still the most popular term, but Non-Payment Fee and Delinquent Fee have become the second and third most popular terms, as many utilities adopt terminology that does not refer to cut-off or reconnection. Calling your cut-off fee Non-Payment Fee, Delinquent Fee, Administrative Fee, or any of the other terms not implying cut-off or reconnection helps to avoid the inevitable arguments with customers who must pay the fee but have not been cut off.

As with late fees, the survey also asked how, other than the utility bill, customers are notified that they are about to be cut off for non-payment. The responses are shown below (again, the total of all responses is greater than the number of participating utilities because some utilities use multiple methods of contact):

This year’s survey also asked how utilities notify customers after they have been disconnected for non-payment. The responses are shown below (again, a few of the participating utilities employ multiple methods of contact):

After-hours reconnect fees

Of the 118 utilities that cut off for non-payment, 46 of them (representing 39.0%) will reconnect after hours and charge a fee for this service. This is down from 46.5% of responding utilities in the 2023 Utility Fee Survey.

37 of the 46 utilities (or 80.4%) will reconnect anytime after regular office hours. The remaining nine utilities will only reconnect during selected time periods as shown below:

After-hours reconnect fee amounts range from $25.00 to $250.00, as shown by the following graph:

Same day reconnect fees

The survey also asked how many utilities charge a fee for same-day reconnection for non-payment. Seven utilities charge a fee for this service, ranging from $20.00 to $110.00, as shown below:

Next issue

Part III – June 3, 2025

The final survey results issue showcases any remaining fees, including application, returned check, meter reread, meter tampering, and convenience fees.

A special offer

I’m offering a special offer to the first three Utility Information Pipeline subscribers who respond. If you are one of the first five to respond, I will conduct a personalized fee consultation for half off the regular price. That’s $1,000 rather than the usual $2,000 price for this service!

I will review your utility’s current fee schedule and conduct an in-depth phone assessment to learn more about your fees. You will receive a presentation-quality document illustrating how your fees compare with other utilities. Also included will be my recommendations for revising any existing fees and suggestions of new fees you should consider charging. If you are interested in this special offer, please contact me by calling 919-673-4050 or e-mailing me at gary@utilityinformationpipeline.com. Remember, the special discount offer is only available to the first three people who respond!

© 2025 Gary Sanders