Real ID & Utility Bills
With the implementation of Real IDs in Massachusetts, we are seeing an uptick in requests for us to change the customer name on the utility bill. The purpose is to bring a utility bill in the applicant's name to the registry as one of the proof of residency documents required for issuance of a Real ID. We have concerns about arbitrarily changing the names and/or starting and stopping service in different customer names to accommodate this specific use. Not to mention if the bill is being moved from a homeowner's name to another adult in the household there could be issues in applying a lien should the need arise.
Are any of you experiencing similar requests?
Do you have a written policy to address this?
We do not currently charge to change the name on an account. Do we have the ability to establish such a fee or is that prohibited by the DPU?
A list of documents acceptable as proof of identification for Real ID can be found in the attached document.
Currently Belmont Light doesn't have a written policy regarding the REAL ID requirements. It is coming in the coming months.
At this time, our Customer Service team is approaching it as an additional contact to the account. With our billing software (NISC), any changes to the name on the account change the names on all accounts associated with that customer number. When our team explains that to customers, most customers have opted to add the new name as an additional contact. There are still some customers that have the entire name changed over.
There is no plan to charge customers to perform this change at all.