BILLING SCHEDULE

  2006


The Sterling Municipal Light Department meter reading and billing schedule is very difficult to create.  It is based upon billing half of the town one cycle at a time.  We refer to the cycles as 1-5 and 6-99.  If you would like to know which cycle you fall in, please contact the SMLD Customer Service Department at 978-422-8267.

The schedule is manually calculated because of how dynamic the conditions that apply to it are (i.e. the number of meter reads that have to be collected, holidays, manpower, juggling two routes in one month (both routes have billing days and discount days and they can never happen on the same day), the same number of discount days and days between reads need to be considered for both cycles, etc., etc. 

After all of that, it is difficult to make a “perfect” schedule for all involved.  We do our best.  Here are the results: 

Month Cycle(s) Bill Date  Discount Date
January 1-5 1/13/2006 1/30/2006
January 6-99 1/31/2006 2/15/2006
February 1-5 2/13/2006 2/28/2006
February 6-99 2/28/2006 3/15/2006
March 1-5 3/14/2006 3/29/2006
March 6-99 3/30/2006 3/14/2006
April 1-5 4/13/2006 4/28/2006
April 6-99 4/28/2006 5/15/2006
May 1-5 5/12/2006 5/26/2006
May 6-99 5/26/2006 6/12/2006
June 1-5 6/14/2006 6/29/2006
June 6-99 6/28/2006 7/13/2006
July 1-5 7/14/2006 7/31/2006
July 6-99 7/28/2006 8/14/2006
August 1-5 8/15/2006 8/30/2006
August 6-99 8/31/2006 9/15/2006
September 1-5 9/14/2006 9/29/2006
September 6-99 9/28/2006 10/13/2006
October 1-5 10/16/2006 10/31/2006
October 6-99 10/30/2006 11/15/2006
November 1-5 11/14/2006 11/29/2006
November 6-99 11/30/2006 12/15/2006
December 1-5 12/13/2006 12/28/2006
December 6-99 12/27/2006 TBD

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If you are experiencing technical or operational difficulties with this site, please contact Sandy Pellecchia at smld@energysterling.com

 

 

 

 

 

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2010

The recent snowstorm on Wednesday February 24, 2010 dropped approximately 8” of slushy snow on the Worcester regional area.  Large amounts of rain followed on Thursday February 25, 2010, and snow fell again on Friday February 27, 2010.

This is not the kind of weather that the Sterling Municipal Light Department (SMLD) finds appealing.  As we all know from December 2008, these conditions can be perilous.  The SMLD is fortunate to have completed permanent repair work from that December 2008 Ice Storm, along with ongoing tree-trimming work, and having a strong power system.  Mix the proactive work in with Wednesday’s storm and we only had three (3) minor outages in Sterling.  These customers were back on line within a short period of time.

What we learned from this particular storm (and from the more than a dozen phone calls that we received) however was that our community often sees downed wires and thinks that they are all SMLD power wires.  Calls on Wednesday were actually relative to cable television (Comcast) and/or phone wires (Verizon). 

In an effort to help us focus on our primary work, the electric utility power lines, please be very descriptive when you call into the SMLD Customer Service team to report downed wires.  The more detail that you give us will help us to determine the correct course of action.  For instance, did you hear a noise prior to your power outage?  Do you still have power?  It is important to note if you still have power, but no cable or telephone service.

The SMLD would like to help its customers to identify cable television, phone and power wires.  Please see the picture below showing a detailed image of these lines with each labeled for your information.   Please recognize that the SMLD is not responsible for Comcast or Verizon lines, or their exact location to your residence.  This general diagram is being provided to assist the SMLD in responding to power outages quickly and effectively when you report them to us.  As always, please call the SMLD Customer Service team at 978-422-8267 with any questions.  Thank you.

* Given the proper information, we can dispatch our crews to SMLD outages efficiently and effectively.  So, when calling in to report an outage or a downed line let us know:
  • Do you have power in your home?
  • If not, can you tell which line is down?
  • If so, is there a problem with a circuit in your own home?  Please check your home’s circuit breaker panel.
  • Was a generator ever in use?
  • Do you have blinking lights?
  • Do your neighbors have lights, or is a town street light on?
  • Is your cable out?
  • Is your telephone out?

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Last modified: March 05, 2010