JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- The Air Force revised its utility allowance policy last May, and Aurora Military Housing will start implementing the change in July. This policy is being applied to all base housing across the Air Force installations. The AMH and the 673d Civil Engineer Squadron Housing Office will be hosting two town hall meetings, May 8, at 6 p.m. at the Dallas Community Center and May 9, at 6 p.m. at the Community Plaza to explain the new policy and provide details on implementation.
Recently, AMH released a memorandum for JBER private housing residents discussing how the new program will accurately capture utility costs and usage while continuing to offer a financial incentive to residents who conserve electricity and gas.
“The utility allowance [policy] will fairly account for utility use throughout the installation,” said Rachel Hodgson, Aurora Military Housing general manager. “Today folks are given an allotment that looks at the prior five years’ use in each unit or home. [The new system will] look at the prior 30 days so you are not contending with the challenges of very warm winters, where you might not need a whole lot of heat, to this last winter where it was incredibly cold. Folks needed a lot of heat and it cost a lot more money, so they end up with financial impacts. By looking at the last 30-day use, we are going to bill you more appropriately.”
In the letter, Air Force Col. George T.M. Dietrich III, JBER and 673d Air Base Wing commander, said the AMH team has worked very hard to create fair and equitable ‘like-type’ groups across the housing units and will have a transition period to ease into the new program which include a 90-day ‘mock billing’ cycle.
Residents will be receiving a mock bill for the month of April, May, and June to help residents monitor their electricity and natural gas consumption.
“The utility allowance will now determine the monthly consumption of homes assembled in a ‘like-type’ groups,” said Daniel Gregoire, AMH logistics manager. “We looked at every home on base and considered factors such as the number of windows, the layout, stories in the home, square footage, and the age of the home. We compared these homes and broke them into like-type groups.”
In the ‘like-type’ groups, AHM will not factor in the lowest and the highest consumption into the average by eliminating the top and bottom 10 percent use.
“We don’t want the ‘unhealthy’ use to count against the average users,” Hodgson said. “Unhealthy’ use can be turning off your heat because you don’t want to pay, or a customer who came back from the tropics and wants [their house warmer than the average user’s].”
The change also allows residents to participate in a rebate system. If users fall below the average user rate within their home type, they will receive a credit but those who exceed the average will be charged.
“This policy will promote energy conservation and this will allow consumers to control their consumption,” said Chris Anderson, AMH tenant manager.
She added that the new program will provide a better idea of what their utility bills should be, based on the style of the home.
Because they do not have the ability to be individually metered, the Denali, Cherry Hill and New Sunflower residents are exempt from the new policy.
Although a majority of the residents will see a change in the utility allowance program, most services will remain the same such as: The water, refuse and recycle, maintenance and the U-fix-it shops.
For more detailed information about the utility allowance program, please visit www.auroramilitaryhousing.com/utlity, contact AMH at 753-1023 or by email at aurora@jlproperties.com.