City of Bartlesville utility bills reflect new rates beginning in July, Utility Billing/Customer Service Supervisor Tammy Hudgens said this week.
The rate increases, which will be staggered over the next five years, became effective July 1, 2016. But because the City’s utility billing cycle includes readings taken in June, the charges will be listed prior to July 1 as well as after July 1.
“This will have the appearance on the bill that the customer has been double-charged, because they will see two lines of 
‘water meter base charge,’ two lines of ‘sewer meter base charge’, in addition to the sewer charge and waste water investment fee,” said Hudgens. “Please be assured this is not the case; it’s just breaking down the charges prior to the rate increases and after the rate increases went into effect.”
Also, utility customers may have noticed that instead of listing “water consumption” on one line, consumption is now broken down into blocks that coincide with the new rates.
“For instance, ‘Water Block 2’ is 2,000 to 10,000 gallons, while ‘Water Block 3’ is 10,001 to 25,000 gallons,” Hudgens said. (See table at right.)
For more information, contact Utility Billing at 918-338-4224.