Business Accounts

Start Service

To start a business or commercial account with the cooperative please be aware of the following:

  • A federal tax ID is required to submit the application;
  • A copy of the proper “business entity” documentation will be required.
  • Corporation or LLC: Incorporation or LLC papers that have been filed. These must include business name, when the business was established, state incorporated in, and the principals/officers.
  • Partnership: Copy of partnership paperwork along with a copy of a government-issued identification card for the person who is starting electric service.
  • Sole Proprietor: Copy of the social security number of the business owner is required along with a copy of a government-issued identification card for the owner;
  • If someone other than the principals/officers, partners, or sole proprietor will have the authority to make service requests or inquiry about the account, the cooperative must receive a written request from an authorized individual of the account giving that authority. It is the responsibility of those authorized individuals to send documentation to make additions or deletions if this information changes.

The deposit is determined by running a credit report and a credit score. The minimum deposit for business/commercial accounts is $300 with a satisfactory credit score.

If the credit check comes back and suggests an additional deposit is required, the deposit is determined by calculating twice the highest monthly use (bill) of the service address for a similar type of business. For example, if a hair salon will occupy the service address where a hair salon was previously located, the deposit would be twice the highest monthly use (bill).

If a different business type occupies the service address, the deposit will be based on a similar business with a similar size service location. For example, if a pizza place moves into a sales/retail space, the deposit would be based on another pizza place, with a similar size building, instead of using the usage history of the service location.

Deposits are refunded after two years of satisfactory payments or when the service is disconnected.

Stop Service

To discontinue electric service, we must be notified at least one business day in advance of the desired disconnect date. Requested disconnects are performed during normal business hours, Monday through Friday. We ask that members provide us with a forwarding address to send the final electric bill and future Capital Credit refund requests. Once the electric service has been disconnected, a final bill will be generated on the next business day with a due date of 25 days later.

See Form Below:

Billing Options

Each month you will be mailed a detailed electric bill showing your meter readings, electric usage, and charges. Also enclosed with the bill will be our monthly newsletter (Spotlight) and a self-addressed return envelope for your convenience in returning your payment by mail. Simply tear off the remittance coupon at the bottom of your bill and place it in the envelope, along with your payment, and deliver or mail the envelope to us in time for your payment to be posted by the due date indicated on the bill.

If you check your email more often than regular mail, paperless billing is for you! You can have your monthly electric bill notification e-mailed to you. It’s simple and convenient. When you choose paperless billing, you will receive an email each month when your statement is available to view online at the JOEMC website. Multiple layers of online security protect your personal information and you can keep private financial information out of your postal mailbox.

If you already have an online billing account set up, log-in and select the “Account Management” option from the column on the left side of the page. You’ll then choose the “Paperless Options” tab and be able to choose from email notification and paperless bill. Check out Notifications (also on the left side of the page) to set up a reminder for due dates.

If you don’t have an online billing account established, signup is easy. Go to the Payment Options section under the Member Account tab and quickly register. Please note that you’ll need your electric account number to complete the registration.

If you have any further questions, call the office at (910) 353-1940 or (800) 682-1515 or email us.

Are you on a budget? Does your electric bill vary each month? Budget billing can help. Budget billing guarantees you no surprises when you receive your electric bill. With budget billing, you pay the same predetermined amount each month.

Each month on your electric bill your actual electric use is compared to the projected figures. If there are any large discrepancies in the two amounts, contact us to discuss adjusting the budgeted amount.

Each year the two figures are compared again. If you have overpaid your bills during the previous twelve months, a refund check for the overpaid amount will be issued. If you have underpaid, the excess amount will be due with the following bill.

If you are not currently a budget billing customer, you can start participating in the program at any time. There are certain credit requirements and restrictions.

If you prefer to have one combined, single-page statement for ease in submitting your remittance or ease of viewing multiple electric accounts, then Group Billing is for you. Group Billing enables electric bills for members with multiple meters that are read on the same day each month to be sent to one mailing address. All of the individual electric statements will still be included in the monthly billing, but a summary statement will also accompany the individual statements. The summary statement will list each electric account number, service address and the individual amount of each electric account for that month. A combined total of the individual bills will be presented at the bottom of the summary statement. To remit payment on all of the included accounts, simply include the summary coupon reflecting the total of these electric accounts each month.

Payment Options

Bills are due and payable upon receipt and are delinquent if not paid by the due date appearing on the bill (and are subject to a late payment charge).

You can pay your electric bill with an e-check, Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover Card over the phone or online and with cash, check or credit card at our office. Payments mailed in to the office should be paid with check. Credit card payments are not accepted at the drive-thru window.

With our online bill payment service, you can save time, gas and stamps by visiting our website to pay your electric bill. This is a simple, fast and accurate service that enables you to pay your bill with an e-check, Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover Card just about anytime, anywhere you have access to the Internet. You can also view the current balance on your electric account and review electric use for the past 12 months. When you make a payment online using our service, a confirmation of your payment is given and the amount owed immediately updates on the View Your Current Balance screen.

Download the JOEMC mobile app for fast, easy, secure access to your account anytime…no matter where you are. You can view your balance, pay your bill, report an outage, track your usage, schedule alerts and reminders, and stay connected with us via Facebook. Nearly everything you can do from our “Member Services Portal” can now be handled instantly from your smart device.
The Automatic Draft Payment Plan can eliminate the hassle of writing a check each month. You can arrange to have the payment deducted from your bank checking or savings account, your debit card or credit card electronically. The Automatic Draft Payment Plan can eliminate the hassle of writing a check each month. You can arrange to have the payment deducted from your bank checking or savings account, your debit card or credit card electronically. You can fill out the application below and return it to the office OR you can set up an automatic draft by logging into JOEMC’s member portal and clicking on Draft Payment Options or Set Up Draft in the Quick Links Section.

JOEMC has PaySite Kiosks located right in your neighborhood. Using our kiosks are free and the payment posts to your account immediately, just as if you had driven to our office to pay it. You can pay in cash but the kiosks also accept checks or Visa, MasterCard or Discover Card. Simply scan your bill (or type in your account number) and follow the instructions on the screen. It’s fast and convenient! An important thing to note is that the machines don’t return change so if members make a payment in cash, any overpayment to an account will be applied as a credit to the account. In addition to having payment kiosks at our two offices (headquarters in Jacksonville and the Sneads Ferry District Office), we also have payment sites at the following locations:
Pay Where You Shop now lets members pay their electric bill while shopping at participating retailers. Members will need a barcode to present to the store clerk when you are ready to pay your electric bill. You can get the barcode by clicking here (you must have your account number to retrieve the barcode from the Pay Where You Shop page). Be sure to tell the store clerk how much you want to pay on your JOEMC bill — the retailers will accept CASH ONLY. Please keep in mind that store clerks do not have any information about your account. You will not be able to ask them how much you owe or any other account information. Some of the participating retailers include Dollar General, Family Dollar, Speedway, Walgreens and CVS Pharmacy. Click here to get your barcode and see participating retailers.

You may mail your payment to the following address: 259 Western Boulevard, Jacksonville, NC 28546.

 

For your convenience, a night deposit box is located at both Jones-Onslow EMC offices. Payments put in the night drop after normal business hours are typically posted to your account on the next business day. Payments dropped in the night drop during normal working hours will be posted to your account on the same day.

Both locations offer the convenience of paying your bill at the drive-thru window.

 

Understanding Demand

“Demand” is the total amount of electricity being used by a customer at any one time. Demand varies from hour to hour, day to day and season to season. This use, which is expressed in kilowatts (not kilowatt-hours), is called “demand” on the system.
For the majority of commercial customers, JOEMC monitors demand over a 15-minute period. The customer is charged for the highest 15-minute average recorded on the demand meter. After the co-op reads the meter each month, demand is reset to zero and the meter starts over, recording the highest 15-minute average for the next billing period.

Demand charge is based on each customer’s maximum 15 or 30-minute demand on the cooperative’s distribution system each month. Demand is measured in kilowatts (kW). Customers are billed according to kW of demand for their rate.

To illustrate how demand charge can affect an electric bill, look at two simple examples:

  • Running a 20 kW load for one hour would result in use of 20-kilowatt hours (kWh) and accrue a demand charge of 20 kW.
20 kW x 1 hour = 20 kWh. Demand = 20 kW.
  • Running a 2kw load for 10 hours would also result in use of 20kWh but would only accrue a demand of 2kW.
2 kW x 10 hours = 20 kWh.
Demand = 2 kW.

Both examples use the exact same amount of energy (20 kWh) and perform the same amount of work. However, the resulting bills will be very different.

Applying a rate demand charge of $5 per kW and an energy charge of 5.00 cents per kWh to both examples produces the following results:

Bill Number 1
20 kW x $5 = $100.00 20 kWh x .05 = $1.00 Total = $101.00

Bill Number 2
2 kW x $5 = $10.00 20 kWh x .05 = $1.00 Total = $11.00

 

The actual energy (kWh) used is the same, and the work done is the same. The difference between the bills is based entirely on the highest demand recorded during any given 15-minute period that month.

Demand charges are the way your cooperative pays for generation and distribution capacity it needs to meet peak demand that occurs from time to time. The demand charge your cooperative pays to its wholesale power supplier is also calculated on the basis of the highest demand during the month. Laurens

Electric uses the same method to bill demand to its demand-rate customers.

No. Demand charge billing is used consistently in the electric utility industry.

To reduce demand charges, simply examine your operation.

  • What energy-efficiency improvements can be made?
  • Does all of the equipment need to be running at the same time?
  • If not, what can be turned off while other equipment is running?

Often there is equipment that is operated infrequently. If this is the case, can some other equipment be turned off while this equipment is running? The result may be significant savings in your monthly demand charge. It is helpful to know when your meter is read by JOEMC. If possible, wait until after the meter has been read to run equipment that is operated infrequently.

For example, test your air conditioner in March instead of waiting until you need it on a hot day in April, only to discover that it is not running properly. You know that the meter is read on the 25th of each month. It is best to wait until after March 25 to test the air conditioning instead of operating it for a short period of time before the 25th. If you operate the air conditioner before the meter is read in March, you will be billed for the energy used by the air conditioner plus a demand charge for the entire month. Waiting until April could save some money.

Consult with JOEMC to help evaluate ways to improve the energy efficiency of your operation.

Resources

Have you ever had a technical question, or needed research assistance, but you didn’t know where to turn or who to ask? Jones-Onslow EMC provides the answers you need. Jones-Onslow is pleased to make Questline available to our business-member. Questline is a NO-COST technical assistance service that provides technical, business, research and information assistance quickly and easily.

When certain fixtures and/or bulbs are replaced with more efficient ones, you may be eligible for a rebate that will help offset a portion of the cost of the changeout. In addition, the overall wattage reduction may mean a considerable savings on your monthly electric bill. Click here for program details and guidelines.

Using energy more efficiently improves your bottom line. And when it comes to commercial energy, the savings add up quickly. Take a few minutes to read through this savings guide and consider implementing some of the tips…they can help improve your bottom line. If you have questions, email us and we’ll be glad to answer any questions you have. Click here for the guide.

Interested in becoming a Co-op Connections participating business and receiving FREE marketing and advertising AND increasing customer traffic to your location? All it takes is signing up to participate and providing JOEMC members with a discount (of your choosing) at your business. Click here to find out more.