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The Housing Office receives two
types of bills that are billed back to your Bursar account. We
receive gas bills from the Southern California Gas Company on a
monthly basis and electricity bills from the City of Pasadena every
other month. Please note that power/heating in the North Catalina
apartments is strictly electric. These units are not billed for gas
and the electric bills tend to be slightly higher than the Central
and South Catalinas. We also receive bills from the City of
Pasadena for trash and water but do not bill back as these are
included in your rent.
All bills are entered into our
database before the charges are sent to the Bursar's Office. The
billing cycles from the Gas Company and from the City of Pasadena
may vary from month to month. For example, the Gas Company billing
cycles can run from January 22 to February 22, then February 21 to
March 19. While the number of days in the cycle may fluctuate (as
do the actual days the bills close), you will never be billed twice
for the same day. Additionally, not all bills are on the same
billing cycle. One unit might be billed for gas during a certain
period while another may not be billed until the following month.
Each apartment has its own meter
for gas and/or electricity usage. The number of roommates in the
apartment during the billing cycle designates how the bill will be
split up. For instance, if we receive a gas bill for $200.00 and
there are four roommates residing in that apartment during that
entire billing cycle, each roommate will be billed $50.00. It is
always split evenly and we always charge back the exact amount from
the Gas Company and the City of Pasadena. If a roommate moves out
of an apartment during the middle of a billing cycle, the system
pro-rates the utilities for that student and the remainder is split
evenly amongst the other residents.
Due to the varying billing cycles
and time it takes to receive, process and charge utility bills, you
may see utility charges after moving out of Caltech Housing. For
example, a resident who departs in December will still see utility
charges on their February or March Bursar bill.
The Bursar's Office does not
currently have the capacity to list the exact dates of all utilities
used from your apartment in their system or on their statements.
Therefore, some generic utilities fee codes have been created. Here
are some examples:
H174
Utilities-Catalina-September
H175
Utilities-Catalina-October
Additionally, our system
recognizes contract dates instead of individual residents. If a
contract starts or stops in the middle of a billing cycle, the
system will split one bill into two separate line items. This is
usually noticeable at the beginning or end of the Graduate Housing
contract if you stay in one location for longer than one contract
period. For example, a billing cycle that begins on August 21 and
ends on September 20 will appear on your Bursar statement as two
separate utility charges because of the housing contract start date
(Sept 1).
H173 Utilities – Catalina-
August (21-31)
H174 Utilities – Catalina –
September (1-20)
Registered residents may request
to view their utility bills at any time. The Housing Office is
currently working with IMSS and the Bursar’s Office to modify the
billing system and actual statements to accommodate actual billing
dates from both utility companies. Please contact the Housing
Office at ext. 6176 or
housing@caltech.edu
with any further questions.
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