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Residential security deposits

Overview

In accordance with the Utilities Kingston terms of service and Kingston Hydro conditions of service, residential accounts are required to provide a security deposit. Your deposit for residential service will commence on your first bill. The deposit will include the following services: electricity, water and gas.

If you have any questions, please call customer service at 613-546-1181, Monday to Friday, from 8 AM to 4:30 PM.

Utility providers often ask new customers for a security deposit. They are a kind of protection and reduce the amount of bad debt your local utility is exposed to. And in doing so, they help maintain a financially viable utility sector, where customers receive a reliable supply of water, gas or electricity at a reasonable cost.

Method 

Security deposits appear on your billing statement and can be paid the same way you pay your invoice. View our payment options. 

Assessment 

A security deposit is assessed 1) for new customers, and 2) when a customer does not demonstrate good payment history. 

Exemptions 

Customers may be exempt under the following conditions:

For electricity:

  1. Demonstrates a continuous one-year (12-month) good payment history (one-year good payment history had to occur within the last 24 months) with a gas or electricity utility in Canada. Customers must provide a letter of reference from the utility company.
  2. At the customer's expense, provides an external credit check from a credit bureau that demonstrates a FICO score of 700 or greater. Credit records are only accepted when payment history cannot be provided.
  3. Is a qualified low-income customer, receiving assistance from the Low Income Emergency Assistance Program (LEAP) or Ontario Electricity Support Program (OESP).
  4. New customers that enrol in our pre-authorized payment plan will have their security deposit waived. (New customers are those who have not  had service with us in the past 24 months.) If you haven’t received your first bill, you don’t need to list your account number on the form. We can look your account up, using the service address you provide on the form.

Customers have 10 business days (from the date of the application for service) to produce the documentation for an exemption.  When the 10 business days have passed without receiving the documentation, the deposit will be applied to the account.

For water and gas:

  1. Demonstrates a continuous one-year (12-month) good payment history (one-year good payment history had to occur within the last 24 months) with Utilities Kingston.
  2. Is the property owner.
  3. New customers that enrol in our pre-authorized payment plan will have their security deposit waived. (New customers are those who have not  had service with us in the past 24 months.)  If you haven’t received your first bill, you don’t need to list your account number on the form. We can look your account up, using the service address you provide on the form.

Customers have 10 business days (from the date of the application for service) to produce the documentation for an exemption.  When the 10 business days have passed without receiving the documentation, the deposit will be applied to the account.

To maintain exemption status, your account must maintain good payment history.

Calculation

Deposits for monthly billed customers are calculated as follows:

  • For electricity, water and gas, the maximum amount of the required security deposit will be based on 2.5 times the average monthly bill for that service address during the most recent 12 months within the past two years.
  • In circumstances where valid or appropriate consumption history is not available, we will estimate the average consumption using data from similar properties (for electricity) or charge a flat rate of $250 per service (for water and gas).

Installments

The deposit shall be paid in six equal amounts over six bills (applied once per month). A customer may, at its discretion, choose to pay the security deposit over a shorter period of time.

Deposit return process

  • An electricity security deposit will be held by Utilities Kingston and applied to the account when facing a potential disruption in service due to non-payment.
  • Water and gas security deposits shall not constitute payment of an outstanding account, in whole or in part.
  • Electricity security deposits will be reviewed annually. Customers with good payment history will be refunded the security deposit as a credit on their account.
  • Utilities Kingston will return any remaining security deposit within six weeks of the closure of an account, subject to our right to use the security deposit to set off other amounts owing to Kingston Hydro or Utilities Kingston.

Interest on paid security deposits

Interest shall accrue monthly on paid security deposits. The interest rate shall be at the prime business rate as published on the Bank of Canada website, less 2 per cent, updated quarterly.

Utilities Kingston will pay out the interest by crediting the customer’s account on the earlier of:

  • once every 12 months
  • on return of the security deposit
  • on applying the security deposit to the account
  • on closure of the account