FAQs • What is Budget Billing?

What is Budget Billing?

Budget Billing is a service that reviews the prior annual utility bill average. Once the average is calculated, a monthly draft occurs from a checking or credit card account for 11 months. On the 12th month, customers are billed for the current bill and the reconciled balance (debit or credit). Customers must be on a AutoPay to participate in the program. The City reserves the right to remove customers from Budget Billing due to failed payments or unacceptable payment history.

Payments & Utility Billing

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1. How do I open and close an electric utility account as a tenant or renter?

Services for rental units may use our online customer portal, SilverBlaze, to open or close electric service. Payments & Utility Billing representatives are available Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. at the South Main Street location. Customers may also call between the hours of 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. A signed lease or landlord affidavit must be uploaded when creating your SilverBlaze account.

2. Will SilverBlaze automatically transfer or move my account over to a new City of Newark address?

To transfer from one service location to another, please contact a Payments & Utility Billing representative at (302)366-7000 (option 2), Monday through Friday, between 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

3. How do I open and close a water utility account as a tenant or renter?

Water, sewer, and stormwater services are directly associated with the property. Services that can be liened must remain in the name of the property owner. While tenants are unable to place the account in their name or establish a SilverBlaze account under the name of the owner, a Quick Pay one-time payment can be made by using the bill information on SilverBlaze. Landlords can also fill out a Property Certification Form to have the bill or a copy of the bill mailed directly to the tenant or renter. Landlords can also provide tenants with guest access through the SilverBlaze portal.

4. I am a new homeowner; how do I establish service in my name?

The buyer’s attorney will contact the City of Newark City Secretary prior to your settlement. We simply request that you contact us after settlement to provide us with demographical information, such as telephone number(s), mailing address, additional account information, etc.

5. What information is required to establish service for a residential rental property?

The City requires a valid driver’s license or passport, social security number or passport identification number, and a signed lease or landlord affidavit.

6. What fees or deposits are required for residential electric service for new tenants?

New service for rental units requires a minimum deposit of $300 to ensure the account has a $0 balance at termination. If an account is closed with a balance, the security deposit will first be applied to that balance, and the difference will be mailed (via check) to the account holder. Security deposits are refundable after three years of good payment history or upon moving from the property. The refund process may take up to eight weeks. In addition to the security deposit, a $30 non-refundable application fee will appear on the first bill.

7. What payment methods are accepted?

The City accepts Visa, MasterCard, Discover, cash, money orders, and checks.

8. How do I pay my utility bill?

Payments may be mailed to P. O. Box 13447, Philadelphia, PA  19101-3447.  The City is required to utilize our local financial institution’s lockbox to process payments in a timely manner.  Residents who choose not to use this Philadelphia payment center, may use one of the following options:

24-hour automated payment system at (302)366-7000
SIlverBlaze, online customer portal
In person with a representative or the atrium drop box at 220 South Main Street, Newark
AutoPay and/or Budget Billing which enables your account to be automatically drafted from your credit card or bank account
At Fulton Bank, 287 E Main St Suite 105

9. What is Budget Billing?

10. How can I sign up for AutoPay or Budget Billing?

Customers can sign up for AutoPay or Budget Billing Plans by logging into SilverBlaze. Navigate to the Bills & Payment tab, and select, “AutoPay”. For Budget Billing navigate to the Forms tab and complete the enrollment form. You will receive an email confirmation when your request has been approved. Payment plans will draft the statement balance or budgeted amount from the payment method each month on the designated due date.

11. What is the Customer Charge listed on my bill?

The customer charge is a flat charge to reduce the City’s sensitivity to various consumptions. It assists in the recovery of fixed costs incurred to provide service.

12. How do I make payment arrangements?

Payment arrangements are subject to approval and must be aligned with City Code. Customers may contact Payments & Utility Billing to discuss payment arrangement options.

13. I need help paying my bills, what can I do?: There are several third-party agencies that assist with electric payments. Contact our partnering agencies or Payments & Utility Billing Division for additional information.

14. Do you offer rebates or incentives for energy conservation?

The City of Newark, in partnership with Delaware Municipal Electric Corporation helps residents and businesses reduce their energy use and save money through Efficiency Smart. This program offers rebates, incentives, and more.

15. I disagree with the amount of my bill, what should I do?

Review the bill to see if the meter reading was an actual meter reading (MR) or a computer estimate (CE). If a meter reading was estimated, contact our office to provide an actual meter reading. If an actual meter reading occurred, evaluate any new appliances or behavioral patterns that may influence usage. Register for SilverBlaze to monitor your interval usage for abnormalities. Our Payments & Utility Billing division is available to assist you in troubleshooting potential issues. If no apparent reason exists, meter tests are available at a cost of $70. This cost is waived if the meter tests outside of industry standards.

16. What is the “Energy Next” line on the bill?

“Energy Next” refers to the inclining rate structure of the bill. While our winter rates are flat, the summer rates are tiered at the first 250 kWh, next 750 kWh, and kWh in excess of 1,000 kWh. Our tariff can be found within City Code.

17. How do I change the name on the bill?

Name changes can be updated with the submittal of marriage, divorce, death, or name change certificates. New Castle County Recorder of Deeds may also be used for name changes and updates.

18. How can I register my address for medical emergencies?

Residents may register their address for medical emergencies by filling out the Life Support Certification form. Your medical practitioner must complete and certify this form. This will ensure that restorations are prioritized in the event of power failures, natural disasters, or non-payment service interruptions.

19. What is SilverBlaze?

SilverBlaze is an interactive web portal providing 24-hour access to review the most current and up-to-date account information. Customers can monitor usage, review data, enroll in electronic billing, remit one-time payments, make automatic payments, analyze bills, view billing information, update account information, create service order requests, and more.

20. Are my SilverBlaze transactions secure?

SilverBlaze is built with security in mind. The website is secured with HTTPS/256-bit encryption for all communications. SilverBlaze does not hold any valid payment information for payments initiated via SilverBlaze.

SilverBlaze leverages Paymentus as payment processing partner. Paymentus is an independent company providing online bill payment and bill presentment services to more than 450 clients in 48 states. They are recognized as one of the leaders of billing and payment solutions in North America.

Paymentus offers fully integrated red-flag identify theft protection and are PCI (Payment Card Industry) compliant. For more information about Paymentus Corporation, please visit their website at www.paymentus.com

21. How can I link other accounts in SilverBlaze?

Accounts may be linked together if they all share the same customer number, which is a unique identifier provided by City Staff to landlords who own multiple properties within the City. This would apply to both active and inactive accounts. Accounts can be manually linked by navigating to the My Profile tab, selecting Account List at the top of the page.

22. Am I able to establish alerts for usage in SilverBlaze?

Yes, water usage threshold and high usage alerts can be set up by navigating to the My Profile tab and clicking Notifications at the top of the page.

23. I am experiencing issues with selecting a password for my SilverBlaze account.

Passwords must be between 14 to 20 characters and meet at least 2 of the following three requirements: alpha, numeric or special characters.

24. Who do I contact for additional SilverBlaze support?

Our Payments & Utility Division is available Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. to assist with SilverBlaze navigation at (302)366-7000 (option 2.)

25. What is the Renewable Energy Program?

In partnership with its citizens, Newark is striving to become a more sustainable community, one which meets the needs of its present inhabitants while preserving for future generations the finite local and global resources and our natural environment. As part of the roadmap to becoming more sustainable, the City has established goals related to how we provide electric power to customers via our Sustainability Plan. One of the City’s goals is to procure renewable generation resources for our distributed electricity mix of at least 30% by 2025, 65% by 2035, and 100% as soon as practicable but no later than 2045. At this moment, over 20% of the City’s power is derived from renewable energy, which is solar and wind.

City residents and businesses have shown consistent support for including renewable resources in the rest of our power supply mix — even if such resources are more expensive than non-renewable power sources. All newly established utility accounts are automatically enrolled in the program. Existing customers can enroll here. Since this is a voluntary charge, new customers may also opt out of the program completing the same form.

The Renewable Energy Program can be read about in its entirety on our webpage.

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