DTE Energy Program Helps with Management of Energy Bills

DETROIT, Feb. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- DTE Energy's BudgetWise® Billing program offers customers a great way to manage rising energy bills in the face of bitterly cold winter weather.

With new and improved features to the program now available, eligible customers enrolled in the program pay the same amount for gas and/or electric service over a 12-month period.

"Today's economy has made managing household bills much more challenging than ever before," said David L. Johnson, Vice President Customer Operations. "But a new settlement process gives customers more control over the payment of their energy bills and serves as another tool to combat rising energy costs. DTE Energy is also waiving late payment fees for BudgetWise Billing."

To date, over 325,000 customers have been helped by the program and had their utility payments spread out over a 12-month period.

When a customer enrolls in the program, the company calculates the average monthly amount based on the previous year's usage. Bills on the 12th month will notify customers of the difference between the energy used and the amount they paid.  In addition, customers will have the option of rolling any credit or additional payment into next year's budget plan.

If customers enroll between now and April 15, 2011 they will be eligible to win several prizes, including a $1,500 EnergyStar® appliance or one of 200 Visa Gift Cards valued at $100 each.

The company will continue to read the gas and/or electric meter(s) each month and indicate on the bill the energy used and amount paid. Customers will be notified if the company needs to change the BudgetWise Billing amount to keep it in line with actual usage.

Customers whose accounts are up-to-date are eligible to enroll in the program. To enroll in BudgetWise Billing, visit dteenergy.com/budget.

Separately, DTE Energy's Detroit Edison subsidiary offers special discount rates to eligible senior citizens and to customers who enroll in its Time of Day rate program.  More information on these and other Detroit Edison rate options is available at dteenergy.com/specialrates. For more information about rate options, call (800) 477-4747.

SOURCE DTE Energy