A member may verify the accuracy of a bill by contacting our business office. Our representatives are trained to handle member inquiries promptly and efficiently.
If you have a complaint, please contact our member service representative and state your problem. If you have a suggestion for resolving the complaint, please state it. Write down the name of the person to whom you talked.
The address and telephone number of the Cooperative office where inquiries may be made are as follows:
Ouachita Electric Cooperative Corporation
700 Bradley Ferry Road
PO Box 877
Camden, AR 71711-0877
Local Phone Number: (870) 836-5791
Toll Free Number: (877) 252-4538
If your complaint is not handled to your satisfaction, you may appeal to the Supervisor of the individual you talked with or the General Manager.
If you are still dissatisfied with the results of your complaint, you may contact the Arkansas Public Service Commission.
A member who wants to stop service must provide the Cooperative with at least 5 days' notice that electric service will no longer be required at the location. The minimum five-day notice begins:
On the day the member telephones the utility or personally informs the appropriate employee at the local office, or
3 days after the member mails the notice to the Cooperative.
If the member has signed a written contract for a term of years under an Agreement for Electric Service with the Cooperative, the member may stop service only under the terms and conditions as set forth in the Agreement for Electric Service.
We are concerned about our members who depend on respirators, dialysis machines, and other life support equipment. This information is important to us because when a storm causes a service outage, our linemen must have immediate access to the information. Service must be restored to these members first and quickly. The Cooperative requests that any members or family members who depend on equipment of this type notify our office as quickly as possible.
A levelized billing plan is available to members who qualify. Under this levelized billing plan, the member's actual monthly bill will be computed in accordance with the applicable rate schedule, and the member's account will be debited with that amount.
The net amount payable each month will be determined by the Cooperative. The Cooperative will calculate the levelized billing amount based on a twelve-month history of the account if available. When billing history is not representative of anticipated future billings, or there is no history available, the Cooperative may estimate the levelized amount based on the average of the member class.
Billing under the levelized billing plan may be automatically terminated upon suspension of service. Any amounts owed for service billed under this plan shall be due as any other final bill for service. Any amounts overpaid for service billed under this plan shall be refunded to the member.
A member may withdraw from the plan at any time. The member shall have the option of paying the account balance, if any, in full, or, if qualified, under a delayed payment arrangement. The Cooperative may charge a Commission-approved fee if a member withdraws from the plan more than once in 12 months. The amount of the fee is set forth in the Cooperative's schedule of charges related to member activity.
An Extended Due Date Plan is available to qualifying residential members and is intended to enable the Cooperative to change a member's bill payment due date, at the member's request, to coincide with or follow the member's receipt of a fixed income payment. If normal billing dates fall within the same time frame as their checks, no extension is necessary. Members who qualify under this plan and pay by the new date will not be considered late on their bill payment. Qualifying income sources are as follows:
Persons receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFCD), or Aid to the Aged, Blind, and Disabled (AABD);
Persons receiving Supplemental Security Income, or
Persons whose primary source of income is Social Security, Veterans Administration disability, or retirement benefits.
If you plan to be away from home for an extended period, you need to make arrangements for payment before you leave in order to avoid possible suspension of service.
Different Address: If you will be absent during billing periods, it is advisable to give us an alternate address or a third party where we can send your bill.
Pre-Payment: If, during your absence, you cannot be reached at a different address, you may make a prepayment. We will estimate your bill based on previous billings, and you may pay in advance for the number of months you plan to be away.
Bank Draw Draft: The Member may arrange to have bills for service paid through our bank draw draft plan.
Remember, we have no way of knowing you are away unless you notify us.
Residential members with a total household income of $12,000 or less per year are eligible to claim an exemption from sales tax on the first 500 kilowatt-hours of electricity used each month. To claim the exemption, the member must file a form supplied by the Revenue Division of the Department of Finance and Administration. These forms may be obtained from the Commissioner of Revenues or from the Cooperative's office in person or by mail.
As noted on the official form, all claim forms are "subject to audit, for tax purposes, by the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration."
Certain landlord/tenants will receive special consideration regarding the suspension of electric service for non-payment. "Landlord" here means the owner, agent, manager, or lesser of premises who receives lease, rent, or other payments which include amounts for electric service. A "tenant" is the person occupying these premises.
Tenants whose landlord is responsible for paying for electric service rendered at the tenant's residence are entitled to the following considerations:
Electric service will not be suspended until the tenant has been notified.
There will be a delay of at least 30 days before service will be suspended.
When feasible, the tenant will be allowed to apply for service in his own name.
The Cooperative will not recover from a tenant or condition service to a tenant on the payment of any amounts owed by the landlord.
The Cooperative requests all landlords who are paying for the electric service for a tenant, and all tenants whose landlord is paying the bill for their electric service, to identify themselves to the Cooperative.
If you feel there may be circumstances under which you would like a consenting person or agency to receive a copy of all "shut-off" notices, you will need to present the Cooperative with the name and address of the third party, along with a signed statement by the third party authorizing us to send them a notice. The third party is not responsible for payment of the bill, but will receive the notice merely to remind the member that the bill is due in order to prevent service from being shut off.
