NES will soon round up bills for charity

Wkrn.com Oct 11, 2008 10:21 AM CDT Just weeks after a statewide electricity increase, the Nashville Electric Service will soon implement a new program that rounds their customers' bills up and gives the difference to charity. NES customers were notified about the program, Change for Charity, when their October bill arrived in the mail. An insert inside explains how it works. Every NES customer is automatically enrolled in the program and beginning in January, customers' bills will be rounded up to the closest dollar. If your electric bill is $77.53 the new program would increase it 47 cents to $78. While it may not sound like much, customers who spoke with News 2 say every penny adds up and the increase comes at a difficult time. Laurie Parker with NES said the tough economy is exactly why they're implementing the new program, to help those who can't afford to pay their electric bill. She said 80% of the money raised will go to charities the utility supports like Big Brothers of Nashville, Ladies of Charity and the Metro Action Commission. 20% will be available in grant form for other local charities. NES customers are able to opt out of the Change for Charity program on the company's Web site. Click here to opt out.