Utilities

Electricity

Dominion Power
1-866-DOM-HELP (1-866-366-4357)
Phone Center Hours: Mon-Fri 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Unless utilities are included in your lease, you’ll need to call Dominion Virginia Power to apply for service. They generally request at least 24-hour notice, and the connection day must be Monday through Friday. Keep in mind that they may run a little behind schedule when students are arriving in town. Utility accounts may also be set up online.

Deposit: You may be requested to pay a $90 or $180 deposit, depending on the type of heating and/or air conditioning at your address. Customers who have had previous good credit with Dominion Power or another electric company may not need to pay the deposit. When calling to set up an account, Dominion Power will run a credit check to determine if a deposit is needed. Deposits earn simple interest and are refundable after 12 months of good credit. A $15 nonrefundable connection fee is also charged to all customers. If you move before 12 months are up, your deposit is applied to your final bill and any remainder is refunded.

Gas and Water

Gas Service: 

City of Charlottesville
City Hall, Utility Billing, Corner of 7th and E. Main St.
Gas and water service: 434-970-3211

A municipal gas and water system services most of Charlottesville and the surrounding area. Requests for service can be made over the phone or through the Internet. Accounts can also be set up online.

The city usually provides next-day gas service, if the request is made before noon. The tenant making the request should be present during the service window provided by the utility, otherwise a $30 rescheduling fee will be charged. Deposit: The refundable deposits can be waived with a letter of credit. The deposit required for first-time customers using gas to heat their homes is normally $250. If gas is used only for cooking or hot water heaters, the deposit is normally $75. All customers must pay a $30 connection fee. Even if the normal $75 deposit is waived with your letter of credit, all customers must pay a $30 connection charge.

Water Service: 

Albemarle County Service Authority
434-977-4511
168 Spotnap Rd. (off South Pantops Dr.) 
Mon-Fri 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

An $8 fee applies to each new account. Accounts can be set up by e-mail at @email. (Provide name, address and date to be connected/disconnected). Be sure to coordinate your billing changeover date with the previous owner or your landlord; it is usually not possible to resume service on the same day once it has been cut off.

Local Cell Phone Service

Trash and Recycling

City of Charlottesville 
434-970-3830

City residents must pay for city trash pick-up, which includes curbside recycling pick-up, by affixing stickers (like using a stamp) on trash bags. You may purchase individual trash stickers (13-gallon bag that contains no more than 25 pounds of trash or a 32-gallon bag that contains no more than 50 pounds) or annual decals at local grocery stores. For prices and purchase sites, see www.charlottesville.org (link to Trash). Your trash collection may be included in your rent; ask your landlord.

Albemarle County

Albemarle County does not provide trash collection. Each county resident must dispose of their waste themselves, or contract with a private disposal hauler of their choice. Haulers serving Albemarle County are required to offer curbside pick-up of recyclables. If you rent, trash service is normally included in your rent, but ask your landlord before you sign your lease.

McIntire Road Recycling Center
McIntire Road (by baseball diamond next to County Office Building)

Recycles newspaper, paper products, corrugated cardboard, milk jugs, glass, aluminum and steel cans, plastic containers marked No. 1-2 (but with numerous exceptions), plastics No. 3-7, and clothes. There is a also a little shed where you can put books you no longer want, and look around for any of your neighbors' old books or magazines to take home. You are asked to take no more than 10 books. Used books can also be donated to the Jefferson Madison Regional Library's annual sale by dropping them off at the JMLR's Gordon Avenue branch.

Rivanna Solid Waste Authority
Check this website for more information about recycling in the area and how to dispose of household hazardous wastes.

Cable

Comcast Xfinity
1-800-XFINITY (1-800-934-6489)

Comcast provides service from basic analog cable (about 10 channels for about $15) up to digital and high-definition premium packages (digital starter at about $50 a month for 12 months). Call or check online for current promotions.

Other Television

DirecTV
1-855-842-4388

DirecTV is a satellite television service offering a variety of basic and premium channel packages ranging in price from $40 to $115 a month.

Dish
1-844-728-7793

Dish is a satellite television service that offers various packages of channels ranging in price from $50 to $80 a month. Premium channels must be subscribed separate.

Internet Service

On-Grounds housing already includes high-speed Internet connections, and many of the apartments close to the Law School offer high-speed connections also (check with the landlord).

If you do need Internet connections at home, there are a few options to choose from, so be sure to shop around. Comcast XfinityTing, Verizon FiOS, Brightspeed, Lumos and Frontier Communications provide connections of varying bandwidth in the Charlottesville-Albemarle region, depending on location.

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