Richmond is cutting utility customers' time to pay their bills by five days as officials respond to ongoing billing headaches and customer service complaints.
Residents will still get a utility bill each month, but the payment deadline will be reduced from 30 days to 25 while the city continues to work through billing and service issues.
Here's what to know
In a press release issued Oct. 14, the Richmond Department of Public Utilities announced that public utility bills will move to a 25-day payment cycle instead of 30 days.
According to WRIC, officials added that monthly billing itself is not changing. Before making the update, the city said it looked at industry practices for guidance.
Officials said the shorter window was to give banks more time to process payments before the next bill goes out.
"This change is a key step in making the customer experience reliable, responsive, and easy to navigate with the needs of Richmonders top of mind," chief administrative officer Odie Donald II said in the press release.
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More background
Officials cited one concern with the previous setup: a new bill could go out before the previous payment fully cleared, causing billing and payment periods to overlap.
The city said the shorter cycle better matches bank processing timelines, creating a "more effective window for payments to be received and processed by financial institutions before the next bill is generated."
Customers who previously had 30 days to pay will now have less flexibility, even though bills will still arrive monthly.
However, for households balancing rent, groceries, and utility costs, five fewer days can make a difference.
What's being done?
Instead of shifting immediately to a 25-day deadline, the Department of Public Utilities is spreading the change across several billing periods.
That means bills sent in October will be due in November under a 27-day window. In November, the city will take the final step and set December due dates on the new 25-day cycle.
During the rollout, DPU advised customers to rely on the payment due date printed on each bill because the transition is happening across billing periods rather than through a single citywide switch on one day.
Customers will need to pay close attention to the due date on each DPU bill as the payment window shrinks. While the city maintains that the policy will make payment processing smoother, customers still face shorter deadlines to pay.
"I'm thankful for the continued march along the path of improvement in utility service delivery," Donald commented in the press release.
Where can I learn more?
Richmond's shorter payment window comes as Virginians are already dealing with high utility costs and affordability concerns.
• In Central Virginia, utility rate hikes hit homes, from Dominion bills to water charges.
• Across Virginia, bills remain unaffordable for many even as Dominion says affordability matters.
• Virginia power customers now face an $8 monthly fuel charge plus years of bond interest.
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