Welcome Guide for Residents
Welcome to Madison Gas and Electric!
Congratulations on your new residence! As your community energy company, we want you to feel at home with your utility service. That's why we've created this welcome guide to help you through the important details.
MGE's online tools make it easy to work with us.
My Account
Manage your account from anywhere! With My Account, you can view and pay your bill, monitor your energy use, enroll in Paperless Billing and other programs, and more!
mge.com
MGE's website offers safety and outage information, clean energy information and options, electric vehicle resources and programs, and ways to save energy. You'll also find information about our commitment to the community and our carbon reduction goals.
Energy 2050 Together
Your community energy company is working toward carbon emissions reductions consistent with global climate science, targeting carbon reductions of at least 80% by 2030 and net-zero carbon electricity by 2050. Our Energy 2050 Together content provides updates on our clean energy investments along with simple solutions that customers like you can use to help reach our goal of a cleaner, more sustainable future together.
We offer several ways to pay and resources to help you understand your bill.
Payment Options
My Account is your one-stop shop for online billing and payments and managing your MGE account. With My Account, you can receive electronic bills and payment reminders, make payments and schedule AutoPay. You also can enable text notifications and pay your bill with our Pay By Text feature.
We also take payments by mail, over the phone or in person.
Understanding Your Bill
We know that your bill contains a lot of information and may be difficult to understand. Our About My Bill section can help you understand abbreviations, key definitions and more.
Energy Assistance
Our Budget Payment Plan makes it easier to budget for your energy costs. When you sign up, you will spread your costs out over the year.
If you're having trouble paying your bills, MGE has payment plans, programs and resources to help.
Your safety is our top priority. Following these tips will help keep you safe around electricity and natural gas.
Electric Safety
We rely on electricity for everything from lighting our homes to powering our electronics. While it's easy to take it for granted, keep in mind it can be dangerous.
Electricity seeks every available path to the ground through conductors. Good conductors include metal, wet wood and water. Your body is 70% water, making it a very good conductor of current. So, if you're grounded and touching an energized wire, electricity will pass through you to the ground. A small amount of current can be fatal. It can also cause serious falls, burns, cuts or internal bleeding.
While most electric safety rules are common sense, it's easy to get careless—especially if you're in a hurry.
Natural Gas Safety
We use natural gas to heat our homes and power appliances. Underground pipes are designed to keep gas safely contained. If it leaks, however, it creates a dangerous situation. A flame or spark near a gas leak could cause a fire or explosion.
To help keep you safe, MGE adds a rotten egg odor to the gas we deliver to you. This helps you detect leaks in your home or neighborhood. In addition to the smell, other warning signs of a leak include:
- A hissing sound near a gas appliance, pipeline or meter.
- Unexplained dead vegetation.
- A white cloud, mist, fog or bubbles in standing water.
If you suspect a gas leak, leave the area or building immediately. Do NOT try to find the leak, light a match or touch anything electrical such as a cell phone, lights or appliances. Call MGE's 24-hour emergency response line at 608-252-7000 and warn others to stay away.
Digging Safety
All projects, no matter the size, could pose a threat to your safety or result in costly mistakes. Diggers Hotline works with MGE and other participating utilities to identify buried lines on your property so that you can dig freely and safely. Contact Diggers Hotline (811) at least three full business days before you plan to dig, no matter the size of your project. It's not only smart, it's the law.
Utility Scams
Beware of utility scams! MGE customers report fraudulent activity in the form of phone calls, emails, text messages and in-person contact from impostors claiming to work for MGE. Protect yourself and those around you by recognizing the signs of impostors.
MGE offers tips and resources to help reduce your energy use, lower your bill and improve comfort. Visit our Energy-Saving Tips page for more information.
Considering energy efficiency upgrades or renewable energy projects at home? See if you qualify for rebates and other incentives.
See how much energy you're using over time with the Energy Use Charts and Data feature in My Account.
MGE's Energy Experts are available to answer questions on a range of topics, including energy efficiency, renewable energy, building science, sustainability and community services.
Most power outages are caused by storms or accidents. Although these forces are beyond our control, we know that you rely on electricity. So we're ready to respond quickly and safely.
Reporting an electric outage
If you are an MGE electric customer, your power is out, and you do not see your outage reflected on the map:
- Click the "Report Outage" button on the outage map page,
- Text "OUT" to 73904, OR
- Call us at 608-252-7000.
We rely on our customers to report their electric outages so MGE can restore power as quickly as is safely possible.
If you are a gas-only customer of MGE, please note that although your address will appear (outside the green outline) on the map, MGE cannot restore your power because we do not supply your electric service. Please contact your electric service provider when your power goes out.
When the power goes out, be safe and stay away from any downed or sagging wires. To minimize further problems, it is important to unplug electronic equipment and turn off light switches. This helps to prevent overloads when the power is restored. You should also keep your refrigerator and freezer doors closed to keep your food safe.
From different ways to manage your bill to opportunities to support renewable energy, many programs are available to MGE customers.
MGE offers several e-newsletters to educate and inform our community about energy-related news, programs and information.
- Green View: MGE's community-focused video series.
- Energy 2050 Together: News, information and energy-saving tips.
- Powerline: MGE's newsletter for energy education.
- Talks Business: Energy-related news for MGE's business community.
Whenever you have questions or concerns about your MGE service, we urge you to contact us right away.
Emergency: Staffed 24 hours, 7 days a week
If you smell gas, need to report an outage or have other emergencies, call 608-252-7000.
Account/Billing: Staffed weekdays, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
For general account or billing information, call 608-252-7000 or complete our contact form.
Energy Questions
For answers to your energy questions, our MGE Energy Experts can help! Leave a message at 608-252-7000 (option 3) or email AskExperts@mge.com.
Additional contact information is available on the Contact Us page.
Sign Up for My Account
Manage your MGE service, choose notification settings, pay your bill and so much more. Signing up is easy—all you need is the account number and name as it appears on your bill!
