Frequently Asked Questions
Here are answers to some questions our customers often ask. If your question isn't
answered here, or if you'd like more information, contact us.
General Questions
- What is the Customer Charge on my bill?
- The Customer Charge covers part of the fixed costs of delivering your
energy, and is not related to the amount of natural gas you use.
Many costs of providing service are fixed. That is, they exist regardless of
how much gas a customer uses. These costs include things such as:
- The gas piping that's required to deliver gas.
- Labor and supplies needed to maintain the gas main.
- Labor and supplies needed to read meters.
- Qualified people to respond to emergencies and inquiries.
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- Why is my bill so high?
- There are many reasons why a bill may appear high,
including changes in the amount of natural gas you use, the effects of weather and
changes in energy prices. When trying to determine why your bill is high, first
compare your gas use this year with last year's use. For example, in winter, consider
whether temperatures are colder than last year; if so, you can expect
your heating bill to be correspondingly higher.
Also, remember that natural gas prices fluctuate quite a bit, especially during the winter.
Because prices on the market are generally lower in summer,
that's when we purchase much of the gas we expect customers to use during
the winter. We store the gas in a storage facility and then draw from it during
the winter. However, we must also purchase gas on the market to supplement
our stored supply. If market prices are high, customers' bills could be
correspondingly higher.
If you are unsure of what may be causing your higher bill, please
contact us.
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- I have problems paying my bill. What should I do?
- From time to time, many customers experience financial
problems that make paying their bill on time difficult. We care about our customers
and we'd like to work with you.
If you have a past-due balance, you can use our online
payment arrangements
option to schedule payments and bring your account up to date.
If you prefer, you can contact us
and speak to a customer service representative. The more quickly you contact us,
the more likely we'll be able to make arrangements that work for you and for
the company. If your problem is temporary, we're confident we can reach
a suitable agreement.
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- Do you accept credit cards?
- Yes, with our Quick Payment program,
you can pay your bill using Visa, MasterCard or Discover.
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- What's a therm?
- Natural gas is billed using an energy unit called a therm.
A therm is equal to 100,000 British Thermal Units (BTUs), or approximately 100
cubic feet (1 CCF) of gas. Your meter measures the volume of gas you use in
hundreds of cubic feet. Each month, that volume is converted into therms by
a BTU Factor that accounts for the actual energy produced by each CCF.
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- Who do I send my payment to?
- Send check or money order, along with your bill payment stub, to:
Michigan Gas Utilities
P.O. Box 659580
San Antonio, TX 78265-9580
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e-Bill Paperless Billing Questions
- What is e-Bill?
- e-Bill is an electronic billing and payment option that eliminates your paper bill altogether. Bills are electronically created and delivered over the Internet. Electronic payments are then generated directly from your bank account. It is safe, convenient, and offers you the flexibility to manage your bills at any time and from anywhere.
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- How does e-Bill work?
- After you've enrolled in e-Bill, your bills will be created and sent electronically. You will no longer receive a paper bill! You'll then receive e-mail notifications when your bill is available online. You'll need to login to our secure Web site with your username and password. When you wish to make your payment, the electronic payments are generated directly from your bank account on the date that you specify.
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- How do I sign up?
- Signing up is simple, just visit e-Bill Paperless Billing and click "View and Pay e-Bills." All you need is the customer name, account number and e-mail address for us to provide the highest quality of service and security. The last 4 digits of your social security number are requested, but not required.
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- Why should I choose e-Bill over the Automatic Payment plan and paper bill?
- e-Bill is a bill delivery and payment option. Automatic Payment is a payment option only. Both options enable you to have your bank release a payment on a date that you specify. The advantage of e-Bill, is that it provides you the ability to change your payment date monthly to fit your cash flow. You can pay your bill when it works best for you, without having to contact anyone at the bank. Just change the scheduled payment date for your e-Bill online.
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- How much will this program cost me?
- e-Bill is FREE when paying your Michigan Gas Utilities bill.
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- Why does Michigan Gas Utilities offer e-Bill?
- e-Bill is simply a more cost-effective way of doing business. Plus, it's fast, convenient and earth-friendly.
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- What are the benefits of using e-Bill?
- e-Bill is convenient, fast, easy and earth-friendly. It's simply a greener way to pay your Michigan Gas Utilities bill.
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- What are my e-Bill payment options?
- You can choose to pay your e-Bill manually or schedule Auto-payments. When paying manually, each month you must log in and select the date that you want your payment posted to your Michigan Gas Utilities account. You can choose to pay immediately or schedule your payment for a future date. Scheduled payments can be made and canceled up to 1-2 business days before the payment due date. Please be sure to schedule your payment prior to 3 p.m. CST at least one business day before your due date. When paying with Auto-payments, you schedule your payments in advance to be automatically deducted from your checking or money market account each month. You can choose to have your bill paid as soon as it arrives or on your bill due date.
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- Will I still receive my monthly bill inserts and Customer Connection?
- Yes, a link to your monthly inserts is included at the top of your e-Bill.
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- Do I need to back up my billing and payment information on my computer?
- Your e-Bills are available online for up to 13 months.
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- I stopped getting e-mail reminders. What should I do to start receiving them again?
- If you didn't change your e-mail address, check your spam folder. Occasionally, messages are flagged as spam by e-mail service providers. If this happens, you may want to add us to your address book (CustomerService@michigangasutilities.ebillservice.net). Please check your e-mail program for more details about managing spam.
Verify your e-mail address is correct.
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- I have a new e-mail address. What do I need to do?
- Click on the "Update e-Bill E-mail Address" link on your Bill Summary page.
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- Will my financial information be secure?
- To ensure your privacy and security, CheckFree uses the strongest type of encryption used on the Web, which is a 128-bit SSL (secured sockets layer).
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- What if I have multiple accounts?
- If you have multiple accounts, you will need to enroll each account separately in e-Bill. Enroll your first account by selecting the account on the e-Bill Enrollment page. After successfully enrolling, you will be taken to the Bill Summary page. This page will provide a summary of your e-Bills for all enrolled accounts. To enroll another account in e-Bill, click the Enroll link at the bottom of the Bill Summary page and select another account. You will receive an e-mail each month for each account enrolled in e-Bill.
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- How do I cancel e-Bill?
- Click on "Enroll or Un-enroll Accounts in e-Bill," then "Un-enroll."
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- I'm already on e-Bill. Why do I have to accept terms and conditions again?
- We've recently made improvements to e-Bill based on customer feedback, and want you to be aware of the changes.
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- Am I eligible for e-Bill?
- The majority of Michigan Gas Utilities residential and business accounts are eligible for e-Bill. You will be notified upon enrollment if your are not eligible.
Not eligible: Transport customers. Non service accounts are not allowed on the web because not allowed in profile but customers have access from distribution for these accounts
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- How long will it take for an e-Bill payment to process?
- Your e-Bill payment will be withdrawn on the date you specify and will be applied to your Michigan Gas Utilities account the next Federal business day if payment was made prior to 3 pm CST. If after 3pm CST, it will be applied in 2 business days.
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- How do Auto Payments work?
- Auto-payments can be set up using your checking or money market account. You select if you want your payments to be processed on the day your bill arrives or your bill due date. Auto-payments will take effect with the next bill cycle.
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- When can I start paying my e-Bill?
- You can schedule a payment the same day you enroll. No need to wait for your first e-Bill!
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- What if I'm already enrolled in Automatic Payment?
- When you enroll in e-Bill, you will be removed from your automatic payment plan as of your next bill. Your current bill will still be paid through your current automatic payment plan. You can then choose to take advantage of e-Bill's Auto Payments option for all future bills.
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- What happens if my e-Bill payment is returned from my bank?
- e-Bill payments made with insufficient funds will be subject to our standard NSF processing fee.
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- What if a payment does not arrive as scheduled?
- You will not be responsible for any late payment related charges (up to $50) should a payment arrive after its due date.
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- How many payments can I make on my account?
- For your security, only 3 payments per account are allowed within a 14 day window.
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- Are my payments guaranteed?
- You can be assured that your electronic payments are safe and reliable. If you suspect fraud, simply notify us within 2 business days of the transaction and your liability will be no more than $50.
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- Why do I need to accept the terms and conditions to sign up for e-Bill?
- We are legally required to provide the terms and conditions, because they contain the limitations and liabilities for all parties involved. It is important to understand the terms and conditions of the program, since you are giving us permission to debit your account for payments and suppress paper billing.
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Quick Payment
- What is Quick Payment?
- Quick Payment allows you to pay
your Michigan Gas Utilities bill with your credit card, debit card or
checking account today.
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- Why do I have to pay a service fee when paying online?
- Credit card payments to Michigan Gas Utilities
are processed by Online Resources, a company that specializes in payment services.
Online Resources charges the service fee to cover processing fees and transaction
costs associated with handling credit card and electronic payments.
Michigan Gas Utilities does not receive any portion of this fee.
If Michigan Gas Utilities were to cover the cost of the service
fee, that cost would eventually affect all customers through our rates.
Because not every customer will use this service, we do not feel it would be
fair to spread the cost across all customers.
Automatic Payment is a
free option that has your payment automatically
withdrawn from your bank account on the date you specify each month.
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- What is the fee for paying by online using Quick Payment?
- When you pay with Quick Payment, you will be
charged a $3.95 service fee by the company that processes the transaction
(Online Resources).
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- How does Quick Payment differ from Automatic Payment?
- With Quick Payment you are making a one-time payment
on your account. With Automatic Payment, payments are automatically deducted from
your bank account each month.
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- When will my payment show up on my Michigan Gas Utilities account?
- Payments made using Quick Payment will take 2 business
days to be applied to your Michigan Gas Utilities account. Your bank account
will be debited prior to that. If the payment is being made to prevent or restore a
service disconnection, you should make the payment and then contact us with your
payment confirmation number so we know it has been made.
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- Is my information secure?
- Yes. All of the information you provide is sent to our Web server using Secure
Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol and 128 bit encryption technology.
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- Is there another way to pay immediately by credit card, debit card or checking
account?
- You can also pay over the phone by calling us toll free at
800-401-6402.
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- Can a payment be made on a rotary or pulse phone?
- No, the system requires a touch-tone phone. If you don't
have a touch-tone phone, you can pay online, or make a payment by speaking
with one of our Customer Service Representatives.
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- What credit cards does Michigan Gas Utilities accept?
- We currently accept Visa, MasterCard and Discover.
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- If I pay my home, cabin and rental property bill, am I charged a
service fee for each account that I pay?
- The service fee is charged on each transaction. If these accounts
are billed separately you will pay a service fee for each account.
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- Can my payment exceed the bill amount, creating a credit on my account?
- Yes, you may want to pay more if you will be out of town for a couple
of months.
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Budget Billing Questions
- What is Budget Billing?
- With Budget Billing,
we review your past energy use, estimate your total energy costs for the
next 12 months, and then simply bill you for 1/12th of that amount each
month. This budget amount is reviewed every six months, to ensure the
set budget amount is covering your gas use. At that time, your budget
amount could increase or decrease based on your actual gas consumption.
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- Why might Budget Billing be better for me than just paying Michigan Gas Utilities for what I use each month?
- Natural gas bills are usually higher in winter than in summer
due to the cold weather. However, most incomes don't rise in winter,
so paying the winter natural gas bill may sometimes be difficult. With
Budget Billing, all year long you will pay about the same each month.
You'll find it much easier to budget your money.
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- How does Budget Billing work?
- The budget year begins with your first bill after joining the plan.
You pay equal amounts until your Budget Billing anniversary, which is
your twelfth month on the plan. At this time we settle up for any
difference between what you paid and the actual costs of the energy you
used. Every six months, your budget amount is reviewed to help ensure
that the set budget amount is covering your gas use. At that time, your
budget amount could increase or decrease based on your actual gas
consumption.
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- What if I paid too much?
- It's simple. We'll keep a running total of your monthly balance. If
you've paid too much by the end of your budget year, we can apply your
total credit to next year's Budget Billing or, if you prefer, give you
a refund.
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- What if I paid too little?
- That's easy, too. We'll keep a running total of your monthly budget
balance. If you used more than what we billed, we'll spread the amount
over next year's budget.
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- Does the budget amount ever change?
- Yes, occasionally. Your account is reviewed periodically because
there are several reasons why your budget amount may go up or down. Besides rate
changes and unusual weather, lifestyle changes like a new baby in the home can
increase usage. Also, adding or removing equipment such as a
swimming pool or hot tub could make a difference.
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- Can I go on Budget Billing at any time?
- Yes, you may begin the plan anytime you choose.
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- Are there any requirements?
- Because Budget Billing is a service to you, we appreciate prompt
payment. If your monthly bills are not paid on time, you may incur late
payment charges, and it may become necessary to remove you from the plan.
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- Do you offer any other programs that could make paying my natural gas bill easier?
- Yes, we do. Automatic Payment
provides the ability for your payments to be made directly from your checking or savings
account by your financial institution, and is very popular with Budget Billing
customers. By combining the two programs, you have about the same payment made
automatically at the same time of every month.
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Automatic Payment Questions
- What is Automatic Payment?
- Automatic Payment
is a great way to pay your natural gas bill automatically.
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- So exactly how does it work?
- It's easy. Just visit the Automatic Payment
page of our Web site and Sign Up Online. This will authorize your bank, credit
union or savings and loan association to automatically deduct the amount of
your Michigan Gas Utilities bill from your checking account each month.
We then take care of the rest.
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- Can my payment be deducted from a savings account?
- Yes. All you have to do is fill out the Automatic Payment Agreement Form.
Make sure to verify that your bank or credit union will deduct from savings
account (some will not).
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- Why might Automatic Payment be easier for me than paying by check each month?
- You don't pay for postage or gasoline. There is no check to write.
You'll never be late for a payment if you forget or are out of town.
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- Do I pay any charges for Automatic Payment?
- Absolutely not! Automatic Payment
is a free service from Michigan Gas Utilities, although your financial
institution may charge for this type of transaction. You may want
to call them and ask. However, you will still save the money you're
currently spending on stamps, gasoline and checks.
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- Does this work well with Budget Billing, where I pay the same each month?
- Yes. Automatic Payment and Budget Billing are
made to work together. Not only can you make your payment automatically, but you will
always know how much your bill will be. Each program works well alone, but the two,
together, are often chosen for greatest convenience.
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- Will I still get a bill from Michigan Gas Utilities?
- Yes, just like you do currently. And the upcoming date and amount of the
Automatic Payment transfer will be printed right on the bill, so you'll know exactly
how much will be deducted and when. You'll have plenty of time to review and call with
any questions before the payment is made.
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- How soon after I sign up will my Automatic Payment payments begin?
- Please allow one to two bill cycles for changes to take effect when signing
up for Automatic Payment or changing your banking information.
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- How will I know my bill is being paid?
- Every month you will receive a billing statement in the mail
of the date and dollar amount of the payment to be deducted on your due date.
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- What if there is not enough money in my bank account to cover the payment?
- Just as if you were paying normally by check, a return check fee
will be charged to your account if there are non-sufficient funds.
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- Will I be removed from Automatic Payment for non-sufficient funds?
- Yes. If you have two or more NSFs within a 13-month period, you will be removed
from the program.
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- What happens if I change financial institutions?
- It's easy. Just visit the Automatic Payment page of our Web site and fill out the form under "Sign Up Online." When you fill out the form, the new information will replace any existing bank information.
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- What if I move?
- If you move to another address served by Michigan Gas Utilities but do
not change financial institutions, we'll simply transfer the information required
to your new account. If you change financial institutions, we'll need you to fill
out the online form again with the new information.
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- How do I sign up for Automatic Payment?
- It's easy. Just visit the Automatic Payment page of our Web site and Sign Up Online.
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