Customers who are LIHEAP-certified are protected from having their service turned off from November 1 to March 31, regardless of the weather.
What is OGE Energy Corp, and what does it do?
OGE Energy Corp. (NYSE:OGE) is a holding company with stakes in energy and energy services providers in Oklahoma and western Arkansas that provide physical delivery and related services for electricity. OG&E, which generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electric energy throughout Oklahoma and western Arkansas, is responsible for OGE Energy’s electric utility activities. OG&E is a wholly-owned subsidiary of OGE Energy, which was founded in 1902. OG&E is Oklahoma’s largest electric company, with a franchised service zone that covers Fort Smith, Arkansas, and the neighboring areas.
OG&E has been providing customers with safe, dependable energy to power their companies and homes for for 120 years at some of the most competitive rates in the country. Our life-sustaining and life-enriching products and services excite people’s lives, and they’re founded on a solid foundation of system reliability, a diversified fuel portfolio, and high customer satisfaction.
Is there a late fee with OG&E?
OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA Several OG&E customers have recently been victimized by sophisticated onlinebill-payment companies who collect fees on payments and retain them for long periods of time, often making payments considerably later than the customer’s set date. The business aims to raise awareness on how to avoid falling into the trap.
According to Kathleen O’Shea, a spokeswoman for the corporation, this is how it works. “Customers frequently use Google, Bing, and Yahoo to look up ‘how to make OG&E payments.’ Several sponsored marketing links appear in the search results, which direct customers to a third-party bill payment website. These businesses pay web service providers to have their websites appear towards the top of search engine results pages. These vendors are unaffiliated with OG&E and utilize the company name and logo without permission, giving the impression that the payment site is the OG&E website and that the consumer is paying OG&E directly.
“By the time payments arrive on the customer’s OG&E bill, the account will almost certainly have a latepayment fee connected to it, which may result in a required extra deposit or even a cut-off notification in some situations.”
OG&E is also taking steps to immediately address the issue with the vendors, according to O’Shea, but wants to notify customers in the meanwhile.
OklahomaGas and Power Company is the state’s major electric company and is a part of OGE Energy Corp. (NYSE: OGE). We’ve been providing consumers in Oklahoma and western Arkansas with safe, reliable electricity at prices that are lower than the national average for more than a century. Our personnel are dedicated to producing and delivering power while also safeguarding the environment and providing exceptional service to our 842,000 customers. OG&E has a total capacity of 6,304 MW, which is fueled by low-sulfur coal, natural gas, wind, and solar. OG&E is a smartgrid technology pioneer, leveraging this platform to provide consumers the award-winning SmartHours program and laying the groundwork for an electric vehicle program that will include public charging infrastructure and enhanced LED street and security lighting. Employees of OG&E live, work, and volunteer in the communities in which they serve.
Is it permissible to refuse to install a smart meter?
If you don’t want a smart meter, you don’t have to accept it. If your provider insists on having one placed, call the Citizens Advice consumer helpline.
If you decline to utilize a smart meter, you may have difficulty accessing all tariffs. This is because, in the future, suppliers may only offer lower pricing to clients who have smart meters.
You can request that your smart meter’s extra capability be turned off by contacting your provider. This means it will function similarly to your present meter and will not communicate any data to your supplier. Only in extraordinary circumstances will your supplier turn off the extra functionality; contact them to see whether this is possible.
Is it possible for an energy company to disconnect you?
If you contact your supplier and agree to repay your debt at a reasonable pace, whether through instalments, Fuel Direct, or a prepayment meter, you should be able to avoid being disconnected. Before your supply is interrupted, you must be asked if you want a prepayment meter and if it is safe to install one.
Landlord not paid the bill
Your landlord may cover the cost of your home’s gas and electricity. If your supplier is threatening to disconnect your service because the landlord has not paid the bill, contact your local council or the Citizens Advice consumer helpline. Through their local welfare aid scheme, your local municipality may be able to assist you in avoiding disconnection or restoring your energy supply.
Preventing disconnectionwinter months
Certain gas and electricity-related operations require a license, which is overseen by Ofgem. Licences contain terms and conditions that licensees must follow. During the winter months of October, November, December, January, February, and March, the license conditions protect specific groups of clients.
If you are a domestic client, Standard Licence Condition 27 specifies that your supplier shall not disconnect you during the winter months if you are:
- a retired person who lives alone; or
- a pensioner who only lives with other pensioners or youngsters under the age of eighteen.
If you are a domestic customer, Standard Licence Condition 27 additionally stipulates that your supplier must take all reasonable steps to prevent disconnecting you during the winter months if you are:
sick for a long time
If your energy provider is threatening to disconnect your service and you belong to one of these groups, contact your energy provider right once. The Citizens Advice consumer helpline can also assist you. Details can be found in the section “Useful Contacts.”
Preventing disconnectionEnergy UK Vulnerability Commitment
The Energy UK Vulnerability Commitment provides further protection against disconnection for vulnerable consumers. If your provider has signed the Vulnerability Commitment, they will not disconnect you knowingly if:
- You’re in danger;
- if you have children under the age of six (or under the age of sixteen from October to March); or if you have children under the age of six (or under the age of sixteen from October to March); or if you have children under the age of
- Due to your age, health, disability, or extreme financial insecurity, you are unable to protect your personal welfare or the personal welfare of other members of your household.
Check to check if your provider is a member of the Vulnerability Commitment, as not all do. Tell your supplier that you are vulnerable and need an inexpensive way to pay for your energy supply if you qualify for the Commitment’s protections. If you haven’t already, request to be included to the supplier’s Priority Services Register.
Time limits
- If you have not paid your energy payment within 28 days of the bill’s due date, your supplier may take steps to disconnect you.
- If you fail to pay an agreed-upon instalment, your provider can only take action after 28 working days have passed after the payment was missed.
Last resort
Gas and electricity suppliers are unable to turn off your service unless they have first provided you a variety of payment options. They can only turn off your power as a last option, and they must give you advance warning.
- Electricity providers are required to give you seven working days’ notice in writing before disconnecting your power because you have not paid your bill.
- If you haven’t paid your gas bill, your gas supplier must give you seven days’ warning in writing before disconnecting your service.
If your supplier threatens to disconnect your service, contact your local council and the Citizens Advice consumer helpline. Through their local welfare aid scheme, your local municipality may be able to assist you in avoiding disconnection or restoring your energy supply.
Consider contacting your local social services department for assistance with your energy payments if you have children. Inform your supplier that you have contacted social services, as they are required to hold off on cutting you off while social services investigates your case. They will normally postpone action for 14 working days, although they may agree to extend the time limit. This may give you enough time to work out a payment plan. The Children Act of 1989 empowers social agencies to offer payments to families with children in need in specific circumstances.
It’s critical that you negotiate a deal before your service is disconnected, because repaying your existing debt will be far less expensive than paying for reconnection.
Disputed debt
If you have a real disagreement with your energy or gas bill, your supplier should not cut off your service. If your energy company threatens to disconnect your supply, call the Citizens Advice consumer helpline for assistance challenging your account. Details can be found in the section “Useful Contacts.”
Old debt and new address
If you have moved, you cannot be disconnected for a gas or electricity account from an old address. However, unless you make arrangements to clear your debt with the same supplier, you may have difficulty getting an energy supply in your new house from them. For your new address, you may need to utilize a different supplier.
Entry into your home
If you do not reach an agreement to pay your debt, your supplier can apply to the magistrates court for a warrant, allowing them to enter your home and disconnect your energy connection. They will generally inform you of the date and time of the magistrates’ court hearing. If you want to stop the warrant, you should call a local advice organization to see if you may get assistance during the hearing.
Even now, before you or your agent go to court, you can contact your supplier and make an affordable repayment offer. If you must go to court, bring copies of your budget to present to the judge and your supplier as evidence of your offer. Take whatever evidence you want to offer as well. This could include details such as:
- a disagreement over the amount charged;
- way the vendor has acted;
- what steps have you done;
- what payment proposals you’ve made and when;
- the impact a disconnect would have on your family, particularly youngsters, the elderly, and those who are unwell;
- members of your family who are disabled; and
You can bring a buddy to court to support you if you don’t have a lawyer. Explain why you need them to speak for you before the magistrate, and request that your buddy be allowed to address the court directly on your behalf. The magistrate will decide whether or not to allow your friend to speak directly to the court. If the magistrate refuses to let your friend talk to them directly, they will normally let your friend speak quietly to you, take notes for you, and provide you advise.
If the warrant is granted by the court, your supplier must give you seven days’ warning (gas) or seven working days’ notice (electricity) before entering and disconnecting your supply. Your provider is more likely to offer to install a prepayment meter rather than disconnect your service. Consider whether Fuel Direct is a better alternative for you than a prepaid meter if you receive benefits. See the previous section for further information. Make an offer that you can live with.
What are the options for paying your OGE bill?
Pay from your checking or savings account over the phone. Payments made with credit or PIN-less debit cards up to $600 are subject to a $3.50 processing fee. OG&E is not compensated in any way for the payment processing fees. Call 877-306-9274 to reach U.S. Payments.
Why are smart meters being removed?
A tiny number of anti-Smart Meter campaigns exist. Each campaign tends to focus on one specific argument for opposing Smart Meters; let’s take a look at the most common ones.
- Information Privacy: According to some campaigns, data obtained from Smart Meters could be utilized for illegal reasons. The most common type of data collected is meter readings. A Smart Meter may take meter readings on a regular basis, such as every 30 minutes, and send them back to your energy provider. With such frequent readings, there’s a risk that someone could figure out where you are or what you’re doing while you’re away from home. For starters, no one else can see your data unless you give them permission, and you may ask your energy provider to only collect meter reading data at a certain frequency. If you’re not using a complicated product and don’t want to track your personal consumption patterns, you can ask your supplier to collect data simply once a month.
What you decide to do is mostly a matter of personal preference and your attitude toward sharing your data with others. It’s a typical problem and decision we all face these days, especially with the rise of social media sharing of so much information.
- Radio waves: According to some campaigns, Smart Meters generate hazardous radio waves. If you are one of the few persons who are sensitive to radio frequencies and have had to remove mobile phones and wireless devices from your house, this may be important to you; otherwise, Smart Meters pose no further risk.
- Economic Sense: Does installing Smart Meters make economic sense? This is a good question because the government’s own business case is poor. The key benefit is that users would be able to reduce their consumption because they will have a better understanding of their usage and cost situation. Customers’ consumption drops at first and then rises when the novelty of a Smart Meter and In-Home Display wears off, according to surveys.
Longer term, suppliers could offer more inventive rates that benefit customers who are prepared to adjust their usage patterns in order to save money.
- Researchers have found evidence that some electrical smart meters may not record accurately when power controls, such as light dimmers, are utilized. Dimmers can manage the power by chopping the power wave up, resulting in a non-smooth sine wave that interferes with the measurement. Experiments have revealed that, depending on the power usage characteristics, smart meters using Rogowski coils can over record by 500 percent and Hall Effect sensors can under record by 30 percent. Fortunately, smart meters according to the SMETS requirements in the United Kingdom do not have this issue because they employ a different measurement technology.
What is the government’s motivation for mandating smart meters for everyone?
Smart meters, according to the government, will assist homeowners in reducing their energy consumption, lowering their costs and carbon emissions. It’s also part of a strategy to improve market efficiency by balancing the amount of energy supplied with the amount of energy consumed.