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Rates Change to Be Announced in September

>> On October 1, 2008, Tri-County EMC will announce new rates and new fee schedules. Affected will be residential and general service commercial rates, the monthly minimum bill charge, outdoor lighting rates, and fees for basic services. A key change to the residential rate structure will be escalating prices for summer rates.

Traditionally, electric rates have declined as usage goes up. When electric power generation was plentiful, the philosophy of "the more you use, the cheaper it gets" was reflected in utility rates. But as demand for electricity has increased and cooperatives face the need to double the generation capacity in Georgia by 2018, these price signals have changed. While residential customers who use over 2,000 kWh per month will pay a higher price for that energy, the revenue collected will help pay for new generation to meet these demands.

"The cooperative has depended on increased energy sales to offset rising wholesale power costs," says CEO C. Hill Bentley. "By sending appropriate rate signals for what’s going on with capacity needs, we’re trying to reduce our member’s cost of power six or eight years from now."

Final changes to Tri-County’s rates will be approved in August, and all of the changes will be announced in the September edition of Current Lines and on our website. <<