BILLING

Billing

You may open your account online, by phone, or in person. A Customer Service Representative might ask you a few questions and a new account setup fee will be charged on your first bill. If you are the owner of a property you are required to complete and sign a PLW&Co Application, Affidavit, and Obligation to Pay. These forms will be sent to you after we have received notification of ownership.

PL&W Co does not take deposits. Instead, we ask that you pay your bill in full by the delinquent date. Your prompt payment allows us to operate efficiently and without costly deposits.

Most PL&W Co meters are read every month, with the exception of some water meters that are read every other month. Where the property is located determines when the meter is read and billed. After the read is taken, your bill will be processed and mailed.

The bill is due on the billing date. Bills are considered past-due twenty days after the billing date. If the payment has not been received, within twenty days, a delinquent notice will be mailed and a late fee may be added to your account. Unless we hear from the owner immediately, your service may be disconnected. Tenants must have the owner make any payment arrangements for delinquent payments.

Payments can be made with Cash, Visa, Mastercard, Check or E-check via:
· Online (no fee)
· By phone (no fee)
· By mail
· In person (Monday-Thursday 7:00 am – 5:30 pm)
· Night drop after hours (in the secure box located at our drive-up window)
· Auto draft

Failure to receive a bill does not release any customer from the obligation of paying it. Please call our office (253-531-5666) if your bill does not arrive at its usual time.
Our office has handicapped parking, a gradual incline ramp and an automatic door system to assist customers. These features are at the front of the building.

You may pay in advance for your utilities. Remember that even when you are on vacation, there will be monthly fees and could be some consumption.

If you or someone in your home is on life-support equipment, please call PL&W Co to find out how to get on this list. We will attempt to let you know in advance if we are aware of any forthcoming interruptions in service.

Since moving is a busy time, please call PL&W Co (253-531-5666) or submit a STOP service request online to take service out of your name. Please call/submit your request at least two business days (Monday-Thursday) before you want service disconnected. You will need to provide your forwarding address information in order to process the final bill. If you would like, after the closing bill is paid in full, we can print a letter of credit to take to your next utility company.

2024 Rates

Your Parkland Light and Water Cooperative (PL&W) is dedicated to providing reliable and efficient electric and water services to you at the most economic price possible. As part of this task, your Board of Directors and Management completed a 10-year Strategic Plan to improve infrastructure and focus on rates while maintaining the financial integrity of your cooperative.

It has been two years since PL&W increased its electric rates. Effective January 1, 2024 a 4% electric increase will be assessed to all electrical classes. The Base Charge for Residential Electric will increase from $20.00 to $20.80 and the consumption charge will increase from $0.0671 to $0.0698 per kWh.

In 2024 PL&W will begin construction of a new 2.5 MG water tank at the Richardson Well Yard. PL&W has saved $5 million of the anticipated $8 million dollar cost. Additionally, PL&W currently has 69 miles of Asbestos Cement water main throughout its water distribution system. Our strategic plan placed a high priority to actively move forward with the change out of the Asbestos Cement water main. Because of the expense associated with these costs, effective January 1, 2024 a 6% water rate increase will be implemented on all water classes. A residential monthly 5/8” water base fee will increase from $35.04 to $37.14 and the per unit charge will increase from $1.62 to $1.72.

PL&W still remains one the least expensive utility providers in the states and provides value to its Members. PL&W has a very reliable underground electrical distribution system and strong water rights to carry us into the future.

Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
Susan Cutrell
General Manager

Download the 2024 rates PDF

 

To help you navigate your electric and water bill, please see our legend and example bill below.

A – Account and bill info
B – Service dates for current bill usage
C – Usage consumed for that time
D – Previous amount owing
E – Total amount owing
F – Usage chart of consumption
G – Service address
H – Payment/bill type notification

Example Bill

Your water meter is probably located along your property line at the front or side of your lot. To access the meter simply open the small metal, plastic or concrete lid. The small lid on the water meter is not locked or belted shut. Do not remove the large cover. Do not try to lift the cement ring.

PL&W calculates consumption based on 100 cubic feet, or 1 unit of water used. If your bill shows 10 units of consumption, you have actually used 1,000 cubic feet or 7,500 gallons of water. (1 unit = 748 gallons of water)

Our system has two types of meters; one reads like a car odometer and the other is digital.

The “car” odometer’s last two digits may be a different color and are normally not read by the meter reader. If it is in the process of rolling to a new number, take the lower number as your read. The digital odometer read will not include the last three numbers.

The number on your meter can be compared to the read on your last bill. See Understanding Your Bill above.

Example Water Meter

A water leak can become expensive quickly. If you are noticing higher than normal water usage without any changes to your average routine, it’s a good idea to check for a leak.

Here’s how:

  1. Please see above to understand how to read your meter.
  2.  Turn off all faucets and appliances that use water for at least 20 minutes.
  3.  Locate your water meter to determine if any water is flowing by checking for motion on the meter
  4. A digital meter will show the word LEAK
  5. The car odometers will have a red or blue leak indicator located on the face of the meter. If the water is off and the triangle is moving, you might have a leak. If your meter does not have the indicator, watch the sweephand and the cubic feet numbers for motion. If the dial is rotating, water is flowing and you might have a leak.


To find a leak on your property start with the basics:

  • Can you hear water constantly running at your toilet? You have a leak. Check the water level inside the tank. It should come up just below the overflow pipe and can be adjusted with the float level control screw.
  • If you can’t hear water but suspect the toilet, drop a few drops of food coloring into the toilet TANK. Do not flush.  If the color appears in the bowl, you have a leak. PLW&Co also has dye tablets available if you stop by the office.
  • Check all outside taps for leaking water and be sure to close faucets tightly.
  • Check for moist spots around all plumbing inside and outside of the house.

To find out how quickly a simple leak can add up, click here to calculate approximate usage.

Leak Adjustment Request Form

Your electric meter is usually located on the outside wall of your home. You might have a meter with numbers that look like a car odometer or a digital meter shown below. Simply subtract the previous reading from the current reading to determine your electric use.

*If the meter is blank please call the office.

Example Electric Meter

*Some homes or buildings may use a meter with a multiplier in order to obtain the correct billing amount. If your meter needs to be multiplied, the multiplier will appear on your electric bill.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your meter(s), please don’t hesitate to call our office to speak to a customer service representative.

Bills are due when they are received and considered past due 20 days after the billing date. If payment has not been received within that time, a delinquent notice will be sent and a late fee of $10.00, for residential customers or $10.00 plus 1.5% for commercial customers, will be charged.

If a member/owner is unable to pay a bill in full within the 20 days, PL&W must be notified to make arrangements to avoid interruption of service.
Tenants MUST have Landlord approval to make arrangements to extend a payment due date.

One notice will be sent stating the expected disconnect date of service. If arrangements have not been made, SERVICE WILL BE DISCONNECTED without further notice and the account balance must be paid in full (including any service fees) before reconnecting.

Payments can be made with Cash, Visa, Mastercard, Check or E-check via:

  • Online via www.plw.coop (no fee)
  • By Phone (253) 531-5666 (no fee)
  • By Mail (PO Box 44426 Tacoma, WA  98448)
  • In person (Monday-Thursday 7:00 am – 5:30 pm)
  • Night drop after hours (in the secure box located at our drive-up window)
  • Auto Draft (no fee)

If you have received a disconnection notice or have been disconnected please contact the office to avoid interruption of service and verify the correct amount owing.


AUTO DRAFT

Parkland Light & Water offers automatic draft services through a credit card or directly from your bank.  This can be set up through the payment portal online @ www.plw.coop, or by calling the office and speaking to a customer service rep.  Your bill will be sent out as normal and the payment will be drafted on the stated delinquent date.  If your draft is set up under a credit card please remember to update the information when a card expires or is discontinued.


BUDGET PAYMENT PLAN

If you are receiving electric services from Parkland Light & Water you might be eligible to enroll in a budget payment plan.  Your account must have been established for at least 12 months and the account must have been paid in full each of those months. The initial budget payment will be the average amount of the account bills for each of the last 12 months (but in no case less than 6 months).

After the initial monthly budget amount has been determined, the actual consumption of electricity will be reviewed periodically. This review will determine if more electricity is being consumed than was expected. If so, the monthly budget payment will be recalculated.

If a credit balance happens (less electricity was used than was expected) the budget payment will remain the same as the previous months, although it may be adjusted at the periodic review.  
A “true-up bill” will occur before the next budget plan year begins.
 
The Budget Plan is available for signup from March through May.  Please call the office to let a Customer Service Rep know you are interested.
 
For any questions regarding our billing and collections procedures please don’t hesitate to give us a call!

PROJECT ROUND UP

Did you know Parkland Light and Water has its own fund established to help those less fortunate in your neighborhood? It’s called Project Roundup and is funded by our members/customers by rounding up their bills to the next whole dollar amount.

This program serves those in financial need or may be dealing with catastrophic situations such as a death of an immediate family member, or major illness and/or accident that prevents the applicant from working or contributing to the household income. Additionally, senior citizens and the disabled are considered primary in eligibility.

This program does not assist private businesses, public agencies, political parties, or religious organizations. Only our residential members/customers may apply for Project Roundup assisstance.

You can help make a difference by contributing your small change each billing cycle, which only adds up (on average) to about $6 a year for monthly bills and $3 a year for bi-monthly bills. Additionally, 100% of donations go directly towards utility billing assistance.

Your donation can be made either by rounding up your bills OR through a one-time, flat contribution via check or cash.

Once you have opted-in to Round Up, we will continue to round up your utility bill until you request to stop.

We also ask that you do not make a combined payment of your bill along with a donation.

We will need separate checks to allocate those funds.

If you would like to sign up and round up your bills, please fill out the information below and we will mail you a card to enroll in the program. Once received, your next bill will show the change rounded up!

Parkland Light and Water and your neighbors thank you!