Intercounty Electric Cooperative implemented a rate change April 1. Member-consumers will see it reflective in their May 1 bill. It applies to all customer rate classes within the Intercounty system.
With the new rate, the average residential member on Intercounty electric’s system uses 1,250 kWhs monthly and pays $111.13. With the adjusted rate the same member using 1,250 kWhs will pay $124.88, a difference of $13.75. The new kWh rate of 8.07 cents is below the national average of 10 cents per kWh.
“To maintain the quality, reliability and stability of the services we provide, it is necessary for us to adjust our pricing structure,” says General Manager Dwayne Cartwright. “While virtually all aspects of today’s cost of living continue to rise, we pride ourselves on avoiding routine price adjustments. Intercounty and its member-consumers have enjoyed long periods of rate stability in recent history. We believe that reliable electric service at a reasonable cost is something that our members can count on and that we deliver on a daily basis.”
Intercounty says the rate adjustment is due to an increase in purchased power costs. Part will be passed through to the members. However, Intercounty’s cost of power distribution will not be adjusted. The increase include costs to augment environmental requirements to existing power plants and an addition of a combined-cycle gas plant that will be coming online soon to help meet the increased demand of power required for the consumers.
While cooperatives may resemble most companies in some ways, they are very different in others. One of the most important differences is the co-ops are not driven by profit. A co-op’s mission, on the other hand is meeting its members’ needs for goods or services. Investor-owned utilities aim to return a profit to their shareholders, who have invested their money in the business. Intercounty Electric Cooperative is not profit driven and does not have to impress Wall Street. Rather, Intercounty is service-driven and operates at cost.
Electric utilities, however, are still going to see its operating costs continue to rise as climate change legislation is declared. “It is more important now than ever for folks to get involved and speak out to their legislators,” states Cartwright. The electric cooperatives has established a nationwide campaign to get the attention of Congress and to urge it to work with electric co-ops to meet both federal public policy goals and the need for affordable, reliable energy.
It’s easy for consumers to get involved by visiting www.ourenergy.coop and sending an e-mail message to Missouri legislators.