ST. JOSEPH COUNTY — They come in the mail whether you want them or not. There's no escaping utility bills, but how closely do you look at them? There are probably charges you don't understand.

Confusing bills are one thing that keeps the Indiana Utility Consumer Counselor’s office in Indianapolis busy.

"We get calls from people who may not necessarily be complaining, they just want to better understand what is on their bill," said Anthony Swinger of the Indiana Utility Consumer Counselor's Office.

Swinger says the ones that cause the most confusion are usually from gas and electric companies.

"Frankly, there are a lot of people who don't understand the specific charges that are on the bill. They are confusing," said Marta Elliott, Communications Representative for American Electric Power (I & M).

The utility companies are required by the Utility Regulatory Commission to itemize certain things. For I & M customers in Indiana, the monthly service charge is what the utility charges to pay for its employees and equipment. The current billing is the amount of electric you're actually using. The fuel adjustment fee allows the power company to recover costs if the prices their suppliers charge go up.

Customers in Michigan will see even more detail because that state's URC requires more detail than Indiana, but Elliott says while they're itemized differently, the same costs are involved.

"The whole idea is that the more you know about what you're spending for your electrical cost, the more you'll understand your energy usage," Elliott said.

I & M bills also contain a credit called AEP/CSW Net Merger Savings Rider. Elliott says that is always a credit. It comes from the savings the company realized when AEP merged with Central and Southwest Corp.

On your NIPSCO gas bill, two charges you see are the actual cost of services passed along to you. The gas commodity charge is the cost of the gas. Think of the interstate transportation charge as the rent NIPSCO pays to the people who own the pipelines.

"We have to pay to get that delivered to our area. So those transportation charges are those charges that are passed directly to the customer with no markup by NIPSCO," said Mike Charbonneau, Manager of Communications and Public Affairs.

NIPSCO makes its money with the delivery charge.

"That's where we get the resources to have servicemen go and do service calls, to have meter readers go door-to-door to read meters and maintain facilities in the ground," said Charbonneau.

As budgets get tighter, most utilities offer programs to help customers struggling to keep their bills paid. The state consumer counselor's office says the key is to be in contact early.

"We don't want customers to be disconnected. We want them to be safe and warm in their homes. There are a lot of programs available and we can refer customers to programs if they are struggling," Charbonneau said.

"It's always better to head it off early and make those arrangements than to get several months in arrears and be looking at disconnection," Swinger said.

If you contact the utility and can't resolve the problems, that's when the Consumer Counselor's Office will get involved. But Swinger told us that 90 percent of the time, direct contact between you and the utility will make things better.

"Don't be afraid to call them up if you need an explanation about something on your bill or why is it that the bills are what they are today," Swinger said.

Other utility bills can also be confusing. These links may help clarify what's on them:

Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor
www.in.gov/oucc/

AT & T
http://www.att.com/gen/general?pid=10656

Indiana Michigan Power
Understanding your electric bill - Michigan
Understanding your electric bill - Indiana

NIPSCO
https://www.directlinkeservices.com/nisource/portal/ni

The bottom line according to Swinger is to be involved.

"The most important advice I can give to anyone is to read your bill. Read it carefully. Get in the habit of reading it monthly," he said.