There is good and bad news for customers of Intercounty Electric Cooperative, which serves communities and municipalities in 10 counties, including Texas.
The good news: Because of a good fiscal year in 2007, the average residential customer will see a credit of about $43 for December. The Licking-based cooperative will divert $1.2 million in margins to be used to discount the electric bills.
The bad news: Intercounty’s cost of electricity is expected to jump. Figures show that the cooperative’s price it pays for wholesale power will jump about 5.4 percent beginning next year. That translates into about $6 for the average residential member. The rate increase will be no sooner that April 2008.
The electrical rebate is possible because Intercounty diverted about $700,000 in a revenue deferral account that was applied to wholesale power bills. In 2004 and 2005, the cooperative deferred about $2.75 million in margins that cushioned rising costs in 2006 and 2007. Among rising items are high fuel, maintenance and material costs. This year, Intercounty experienced larger margins due to a cold January and spring and unseasonably warm temperatures in August.
Those margins exceed expectations despite a crippling ice storm in January.
Power costs are rising: In September, the Associated Electric Cooperative’s board announced its wholesale rates for 2008 to its six generation and transmission members. It also announced pricing for effective in April 2009. At its Oct. 25 meeting, Sho-Me Power Corp., which provides wholesale power to Intercounty, said its wholesale rate increase will be 5.4 percent.
How will the wholesale rate adjustment impact Intercounty customers? AECI raised it wholesale rates by 4.6 percent in 2007, and Sho-Me absorbed the hike. As a result, Intercounty’s power bill did not increase. Sho-Me had indicated its margins are such that no increase is planned at its level in 2008. It will absorb about $2 million of the projected 2008 adjustment from Associated Electric Cooperative. The wholesale adjustment passed through to Intercounty is projected to be about 5.4 percent. That translates into the $6 per month figure.