Why does a customer pay a base rate and then a graduated amount? The graduated rate begins at 0.
there are also additional charges for maintenance/upkeep, etc
I believe water to be more expensive here than any other state in which I lived.[/QUOTE]
I thought the same thing about water being more expensive here until I looked at an old water bill from New York. The price per gallon here is less but we only paid the access fee once a year which is equal to the cost that we pay here monthly. What I don't understand is how clean drinking water can be cheaper than dirty irrigation water?[/QUOTE]
In general you can look at your utility service in several parts.
The first is the plant where they make the produce - gas, electric water etc.
The second is the cost of getting the utility from there plant to your home.
These two costs relate more to the number of customers served than to how much you use. Thus the base charge could be because you have access to the utility even if you do not need to use them for part of the year.
The last charges is based on how much you consume.
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