About Chester Municipal Electric Light Department
The Chester Municipal Electric Light Plant (CMELD) is a municipally owned utility, meaning that is owned by our customers, and has been in operation since 1926. It is our goal to do everything possible to ensure that our service is always at its best. The Municipal Electric Light Department, under the direction of the Operations Manager, is governed by an elected Board of Commissioners who hold public meetings on a monthly basis.
OUR MISSION
The Chester Municipal Electric Light Department exists to provide its owner, the Town of Chester’s ratepayers, safe and reliable electricity at a reasonable and competitive rate that sustains the healthy operations of the department, and the maintenance, expansion and modernization of the electrical distribution system. This mission will be accomplished by a staff of responsible, dedicated and customer-oriented employees with superior work ethics, skills and professionalism.
TO OUR CUSTOMERS
As a customer of the Municipal Light Department you will receive safe, and reliable electricity as stated in the Mission Statement. For the convenience of our customers, we have several payment options available to you. You can pay online, by going to UniPay to pay your electric bill using a credit card or eCheck.
If you pay your bill by the 15th of the month you receive a 5% discount off your energy portion of your bill. Contact our office to enroll in our secure ACH program, which automatically withdraws your monthly electric bill balance off your bank account, taking one more thing off your mind and allowing you to take advantage of our early payment discount.
Our office opens from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday. During off hours, you can leave your payments in our Drop Box.
The CMELD has service personnel available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to serve you should you lose your electrical power or to address any problems with the Town’s electrical distribution system. If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to call.
Check out other parts of our website to find useful information, forms, applications, and policies. For non-emergency concerns you can email us at cmeldmgr@townofchester.net.
OUR POLICIES
TERMS & CONDITIONS
TEMP SERVICE MANUAL BYPASS
NET METERING POLICY
CUSTOMER CODE OF CONDUCT
HOLIDAY CLOSURES
OFFICE STAFF
Diane M. Hall
OPERATIONS MANAGER
Rosanne McClaflin
Board of Light Commissioners
Deryck Savoy
TERM ENDS 2024
Terry Murphy
TERM ENDS 2025
Duane Pease
TERM ENDS 2026
Open Positions
No open positions
Job Application
HOLIDAY CLOSURES
New Year’s Day
Closed January 1
Martin Luther King Day
Closed January 15
Presidents Day
Closed February 19
Patriots’ Day
Closed April 15
Memorial Day
Closed May 27
Juneteenth
Closed June 19
Independence Day
Closed July 4
Labor Day
Closed September 2
Columbus Day
Closed October 14
Veterans Day
Closed November 11
Thanksgiving
Closed November 28 and 29
Christmas
Closed December 25
Customer Code of Conduct
We ask that you please be respectful to our employees. Please refrain from discussing controversial topics such as politics, or inappropriate personal topics such as sexual orientation or gender identity. We will not accept discrimination, or behavior that is abusive, intimidating, or disrespectful, against our employees or other customers based on an individual’s race, ethnicity, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity or expression, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, public assistance status, or any other status protected by law.
Temporary electrical service policy
ELECTRICIANS & ELECTRICAL CONTRACTORS
**CMELD requires all new meter enclosures to have manual bypass levers in all applications.**
- Temporary electrical services are required to be permitted with an electrical permit issued by the Wiring Inspector.
- Temporary electrical services shall not be installed on utility poles or sub-poles and must be installed on an independent support structure or a pedestal.
- All meter enclosures for temporary services must include a by-pass lever.
Temporary electrical services are only for the purpose of new building construction, temporary job trailers or as defined in the National Electrical Code Article 590 (Temporary Installations). Temporary services for new build construction purposes must provide a building permit authorization number when filing the electrical permit application. - Temporary electrical services must fully comply with the National Electrical Code Article 590 (Temporary Installations).
Temporary electrical services for any purpose other than defined in Article 590 in the NEC are not allowed. - All temporary electrical services will not be energized by CMELD until written authorization from the electrical inspector has been received directly from the electrical inspector.