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Open the companion tool →What to check in the true-up
The arithmetic is answerable: twelve payments, actual usage for the period, the rates that applied, and any fees. State rules differ on how much notice a utility must give before changing the level payment and how large a true-up can be spread over, so the notice and the plan terms are part of the file.
It is also the honest moment to decide whether the plan still helps: level payments smooth cash flow, but they do not reduce the annual cost, and a true-up that arrives in a low-income month is a real risk.
The protocol
- Write the plan terms down: start date, monthly payment, review date, and how the true-up is calculated.
- Add the twelve payments and the actual usage for the same period into one table.
- Compute the true-up yourself, and separate usage changes from rate changes.
- Ask for the plan review date and the notice period before a payment change, in writing.
- If the true-up is unaffordable, ask for a spreading plan or the assistance route before agreeing to a higher level payment.
What the tool does
Verify a budget-billing true-up with the year's payments and usage, and choose the spreading option before signing a new level payment. It runs locally in this browser and sends nothing.
Limit first: This is a documentation and planning aid, not legal, energy or benefits advice. It cannot stop a shutoff by itself, compel a commission decision, or certify eligibility.
Open the companion tool →Cost and free path
Cost: Free: one complete run in this browser, no account. Optional $4 one-time unlock allows unlimited runs of this tool on this browser. The free path and safety guidance never require payment.
Rule status (state route): structural: budget or level-payment plans reconcile actual use at a true-up, and state rules differ on the notice required before a payment changes and on how a true-up may be spread. The plan terms on the household's own agreement govern. Reviewed 2026-10-03; confirm the notice terms in your state tariff.
Automated decision this documents: automated plan recalculation that raises the level payment after a true-up
Free path, in order (no cost):
- Your state commission's consumer division (budget-billing and notice complaints)
- State LIHEAP office (assistance before agreeing to a higher payment)
- 211 — local assistance and payment-plan help (211.org)
What this cannot do: It cannot stop a shutoff by itself, compel a commission decision, or certify eligibility.
Sources checked 2026-10-03 · source bank reviewed against the live pages listed in metadata.
One human next step
Ask the utility to confirm the true-up calculation and the spreading options in writing, and apply to the state LIHEAP office before agreeing to a level payment you cannot sustain.
Research log and safety checks
AI-assist path: not used for a verdict. This builder organises the reader's own documents and names an independent source; it does not infer authenticity, eligibility, or legal rights. §6.9/§6.10/§6.11 disclosed in the batch report; §6.12 status line carried in metadata as `status_line`.
§0.5 protection result: category is utilities-and-essential-costs; crisis-adjacent: no; fear/urgency/scarcity toolkit used: no. The protective function is free and the paid feature is convenience only.