By Lincoln Feistner, Sales & Project Manager
Central Electric has a qualified team of licensed electricians, heating and cooling technicians and an appliance repair technician. There are sometimes questions about our service fees. I want to go over the information to help you better understand how we bill.
Let’s start with member services fees, which apply to consumer wiring, heating and cooling or appliance services. Currently, we charge a $110 minimum fee for any service call we perform that takes less than one hour, and $110 per hour for any additional time.
You might be wondering, why $110 for any service call under one hour? To be fair to all members from Chamberlain to Winfred, we charge $110 for the first hour to cover prep time, drive time and mileage. Most other contractors charge mileage both ways, and their clock starts when they leave the shop and runs until they return.
Billing Factors to Keep in Mind
Each employee on a job is billed out at $110 per hour. For example, if two employees are required, the rate is $220 per hour, and so on.
Time spent gathering parts, loading materials and completing related paperwork is billable time.
If there’s an emergency that requires our employees to leave their current job site, billing will start from the time they pull off the job, complete the emergency work, and return to the original site.
Heavy Equipment and Truck Fees
Bucket trucks, backhoes, jet vacs, skid loaders, and digger trucks: $120 per hour with a one-hour minimum. Operator not included.Trenching: $3.50 per foot. Operator not included.
Underground locating: $90 per service request for locator equipment. Operator not included.
After-Hours Fees
We offer after-hours service and are always willing to help if you need us outside of regular business hours. Please note that our after-hours fees start at $145 per hour, with a minimum of two hours of billable time.
Charges include mileage and apply to the time spent at the job site and the time spent driving to and from the location. Time spent on paperwork and preparing materials is also billable. Billable time may be charged in half-hour increments.
Security Lights
Our electricians can install security lights to help you light up the driveway or the cattle yard. Security lights are billed at cost plus 5%. The electrician’s time is billed at the applicable rate.
I hope this summary helps you better understand Central Electric’s service fees. Our goal is to cover the cooperative’s expenses while continuing to provide quality and dependable service at a reasonable price.
Please reach out with any questions. If you’d like a free estimate on your next heating and cooling or electrical project, give us a call at 1-800-477-2892.