Membership

Getting Started

Washington Electric Cooperative provides electric service to members in 41 Vermont towns.

If you are moving into a residence that is served by the cooperative, you need to contact a member service representative so that the electric service can be transferred into your name. It will be necessary for you to sign a membership application and pay a $20.00 membership fee, in addition to a deposit, as explained below, unless you are able to provide a satisfactory credit reference, in which case the deposit will be waived.

To get started, call WEC at 802-223-5245 or toll free at 1-800-932-5245 and a member service representative will assist you in becoming a WEC member.

WEC Service Area
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Billing Cycle

Energy bills are mailed monthly utilizing three billing cycles with the exception of seasonal members who are billed semi-annually, in May and November. Typically Cycle 1 bills on the 15^th of each month; Cycle 2, the 22^ndof each month; and Cycle 3, on the 29^th of each month. Note: If the bill date falls on a weekend, the bill date will move to the preceding Friday.

Payment is due within thirty (30) days of the mailing date. A bill that remains unpaid after that time becomes delinquent, and the account becomes subject to collection and disconnection procedures in accordance with Vermont Public Utility Commission rules and regulations.

Payment Options

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Need to make a payment quickly, but can’t call the office during business hours and don’t have access to a computer? You can access our automated line 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and make a payment by check or credit/debit card. Just call 802-223-5245 or 1-800-932-5245(long distance) to make a payment.

Instructions to pay-by-phone:

Dial 223-5245 or 1-800-932-5245
Selection option 4
Selection option 6
Enter your account number followed by the # symbol, enter 1 to confirm
Select option 2 to make a payment
Pay full amount press 1, pay different amount press 2
Confirm amount to be paid
Press option 1 to pay by check
Press option 2 to pay by credit card

If paying by check, be sure to have your:

Routing number (lower left-hand number on your check)
Your checking account number (bottom middle number on check)

If paying by credit card, be sure to have your:

Credit card number
The expiration date on the card
The CSV (three digit number) from the back of your card.

** Please note that we only accept Visa and MasterCard.

Any primary residential customer may request monthly budget billing at any time of the year. Contact WEC’s Member Services Department to receive an application for the budget billing plan. The budget will be based on either the member’s previous 12-month average use or the anticipated average use based on the consumption history for this service point, adjusted for any known additional charges or credits, and changes in rates and energy consumption, including anticipated length of occupancy.

How the Budget Billing Plan Works

Each budget billing statement will provide actual energy consumption information and charges, and state both the budget billing payment due and the actual account status, showing the unpaid balance or credit due. Approximately every three months after enrollment in the Cooperative’s budget billing plan, the budget payment amount will be reviewed and compared to actual energy consumption during that period, and if necessary, the monthly budget payment will be increased or decreased to minimize any underpayment or over payment by the member.

In August of each year, each budget billing account will be reconciled, and any balance remaining or credit due that is less than $50.00 will be applied to the member’s budget payment schedule for the ensuing year. Any balance or credit remaining that is greater than $50.00 will be processed at the member’s option as follows:

Balance Due:

A. May be applied to the budget plan for the ensuing year, which will result in an increase in the monthly budget payment;

B. May be paid in 12 equal monthly installments during the ensuing 12 months, or over a lesser time period, under a separate repayment agreement with the Cooperative’s Billing Department.

Credit Balance:

A. May be applied to the budget plan for the ensuing year to reduce the monthly budget payment, or applied as a lump sum credit to the next monthly bill.

B. May be refunded to the member upon written or verbal request to the Billing Department.

Any member with a delinquent balance who applies for budget billing shall have the option to either include the delinquent amount into the budget payment plan or pay the delinquency over an extended period under a separate repayment agreement concurrent with the budget plan. The terms of the repayment plan must be approved by WEC’s Member Services Department.

Budget billing will continue until such time as the member gives the Cooperative 30 days’ advance notice of their desire to terminate budget billing.

Members who dispute terms or conditions of the budget billing plan may seek advice and assistance from the Consumer Affairs Division of the Department of Public Service. Contact the Consumer Affairs Division at 1-800-622-4496 (in-state calls only) or (802) 828-2332, 112 State Street, Montpelier, Vermont 05602, Monday through Friday (except holidays) between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Assistance for the deaf is also available from the Department through a TDD/TTY machine by calling 1-800-734-8390, toll free within Vermont. (Vermont Public Service Department)

Community Support

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Visit our Capital Credits page for capital credits FAQ, abandoned property, the WARMTH program, and how members can donate to the WEC Community Fund.

So what are these things called capital credits?

At a co-op you are more than just a customer; you are a member. In fact, you become part owner of your local co-op. As part of that relationship, you will periodically receive money back in the form of capital credit refunds.

Because WEC is a cooperative, owned by its members, it does not technically earn profits. Instead, any revenues over and above the cost of doing business are considered "margins." These margins represent a loan by the membership and it is used by the cooperative as operating capital. This capital allows WEC to finance operations and construction, with the intent that this money will be repaid in later years when the cooperative is financially able to do so. The return of money to members is what the capital credit process is all about.

2024 Equity Distribution Plan

For a report on Community Fund activities, including a list of organizations and community projects that received support, read the July issues of Co-op Currents, or simply contact the Co-op office for more information.

Nonprofits: Please visit our Community Fund page for more information and instructions on requesting a grant.

To our local organizations: Thank you for considering Washington Electric Cooperative, Inc.’s (WEC) Community Fund as an avenue of financial support for community driven needs. In conformance with the seventh Cooperative principle of “Concern for the Community”, WEC supports activities of worthwhile non-profit, charitable agencies, educational institutions, and other community organizations which enhance the well-being of our members and the communities they live in.

Community Fund grants are awarded every few months upon careful consideration by the Community Fund Committee. For a full list of organizations WEC donated to over the last year, please see the July issue of our newsletter, Co-op Currents.

WEC is proud to provide grants to local non-profits and community projects from the WEC Community Fund. As a cooperative, our owners are our customers. In order to not pay for such contributions from WEC's operating budget, WEC asks its members to voluntarily donate their capital credit refunds to the WEC Community Fund.

Current members who wish to donate their capital credits to the Community Fund, please call the Co-op's Administrative Assistant at 802-224-2332.

Helping Vermonters in Need

There are two ways you can make a voluntary contribution to help Vermonter’s facing an emergency situation – that is, when a household has exhausted its supply of fuel and/or faces disconnection of electric service.

WARMTH is a heating assistance program for low-income Vermonters that depends on customer and utility donations. WARMTH funds are only available to people facing emergency situations, that is, when a household has exhausted its supply of heating fuel and/or faces disconnection of electric service. You can make a contribution to the WARMTH program by sending a check, made payable to WARMTH, c/o CVOEO, Box 1603, Burlington, VT 05402 or by adding an additional amount to your monthly electric bill payment, specifying how much of that payment you would like to target to WARMTH. This contribution is tax deductible.

Another way you can assist needy Vermonters is to join with over 1,400 other Co-op members in contributing to Operation Roundup. This is a voluntary program designed to give Cooperative members an opportunity to pool their resources to raise money to meet the emergency heating-related needs of area residents. Operation Roundup allows WEC members to round up their monthly electric bills to the nearest dollar. Money raised from this small, but cumulatively significant, contribution effort is distributed to Vermont Community Action Agencies within the counties served by the Cooperative, and is used to assist individuals facing emergency situations. To sign up for this program, simply check the authorization box on your next electric bill.

What is the WEC Community Fund?

Washington Electric Co-op annually makes modest contributions to local non-profit organizations and community projects. As a cooperative, our owners are our customers. In order to not pay for such contributions from WEC’s operating budget, WEC asks its members to voluntarily donate their capital credit refunds to the WEC Community Fund. (Members choosing not to participate in the Community Fund receive their refunds in November.)

For more information about capital credit refunds and WEC’s annual Equity Distribution Plan, see:

To fulfill the Cooperative’s philosophy of “concern for community” as reflected in the principles adopted in 1995 by the International Cooperative Alliance, the Board of Directors established the Community Fund in 2003 and it has been going strong ever since. In 2020 over 1,450 Washington Electric Co-op members/former members chose to contribute their capital credit refunds to the Community Fund. The total of these contributions were over $50,000.

Contributing to the Community Fund

WEC uses a variety of means to contact members to see if they wish to contribute their capital credit refund to the Community Fund.

Any member not contacted may donate to the Community Fund by submitting an authorization form with the amount of the available capital credit refund. The form should only be completed if a member chooses to donate.

Abandoned Capital Credits

Former WEC members may have retired capital credits which have not been claimed. Some of these credits have been paid to the State of Vermont’s Unclaimed Division and some are still on the member’s capital credit account at the Cooperative. To check whether you have abandoned capital credits, click on the complete list. Those printed in white with a green box have been paid to the State of Vermont and may be claimed by filling out a form on line at Vermont Unclaimed Property. Those printed in black may be claimed by contacting the Cooperative at 802-223-5245 or 1-800-932-5245. You will be asked to verify your identify which can be done by providing WEC with an old address, telephone number, map location #, your social security number (if it is on file), etc. Upon verification, you will be mailed a refund authorization form. Note that an asterisk(*) in front of a name indicates multiple accounts.

Complete list of abandoned capital credit refunds A – Z (PDF)

Link to Vermont Unclaimed Property

Annual Report of Community Fund Activities

For a report on Community Fund activities, including a list of organizations and community projects that received support click here to read July issues of Co-op Currents or contact the Co-op office.

SmartHub

Online account management portal.

What is Smarthub and How to get started (PDF)
Setting Up Usage Notifications (PDF)
Login to Smarthub

New Construction

- Wiring Specifications: For reference only. Please contact us before purchasing any materials on these specifications.
  - Line Extension/Relocation Application (PDF)
  - Load Sheet
  - 100- and 200-amp underground from primary pole (PDF)
  - 100- and 200-amp overhead (PDF)
  - 100- and 200-amp service mast (PDF)
  - 100- and 200-amp underground (PDF)
- Ditching Specifications for Underground Service (PDF)
- Single Residence Pedestal Installation (PDF)
- Net Metering Wiring Schematics (PDF)
- Efficiency Vermont's Incentives and Specifications (PDF)

Whether you are planning to build your own home, are planning to contract with a builder, or if your home is already under construction, now is the time to take advantage of the potential money and energy savings available to you by making some critical, yet sometimes small and inexpensive decisions.

These decisions may include building design, construction details, types of heating and hot water systems, lighting, appliance, ventilation choices, and other home systems that use energy and cost you money to operate.

The Co-op proudly partners with Efficiency Vermont to help build homes that are designed to use less energy, help you save money on utility bills, and help protect the environment. For more information about Efficiency Vermont’s Residential New Construction Program, visit Efficiency Vermont’s webpage.

Disconnection / Reconnection

The Cooperative strictly adheres to disconnection procedures set forth in Vermont Public Utility Commission regulations governing electric utilities. There are basically four steps to the process. These steps apply only to those disconnections occurring from November 1 to March 31. From April 1 to October 31, only steps 1 and 2 apply. These steps are as follows:

WEC mails bills monthly. If the bill remains unpaid by the start of the next billing cycle, the customer carries a “balance forward” on that month’s bill. If several more days go by with no payment, a disconnect notice is sent warning of a possible disconnection and providing information about the customer’s rights under the law. The member is invited to contact the Cooperative to discuss payment arrangements that can take some of the pressure off, but still ensures that WEC will receive payment of the overdue amount within a reasonable amount of time.
The next collection effort begins on a Friday afternoon approximately one month after the original bill was mailed. The Co-op initiates automated telephone calls to all delinquent customers. The automated calls are programmed to run Monday through Friday. The calls deliver a message, which can be recorded by an answering machine, advising the member to call the Cooperative as soon as possible.
Attempts are made to call the member prior to disconnection if possible.

Failure to pay the delinquent amount or make reasonable payment arrangements may result in disconnection of service. The member will incur a $20.00 disconnection fee and a $20.00 reconnection fee if restoration of service is done during regular business hours. Additional charges will apply if service is restored after business hours.

Disconnection/Reconnection Policy #12 (PDF)

Closing Your Account / Transfer Service

When going off WEC lines and stopping electric service from the cooperative, it will be necessary for you to close your account. It is important to remember to contact a member service representative (802.223.5245 or wecmembers@wec.coop) before you leave the service location to inform WEC that you will no longer be responsible for the service at this location.

If the power is to be transferred into someone else’s name it can be very helpful if you tell the new member to contact WEC. This can help avoid unnecessary disruption of service to either party.

Please remember to keep the cooperative informed of all address changes, not only when you go off WEC lines but also in the future, as your final capital credit allocation notice and future capital credit refund authorizations will be sent via mail at the last known address that we will have for you.