News & Press
Just like the price of gas at the pump, the price of fuel used to produce electric energy fluctuates too. At Tri-County, we budget for expected costs based on projected fuel prices and set rates to reflect that. The Power Cost Adjustment, or PCA, on your bill reflects the gap between the expected cost versus the actual cost. The PCA serves as a mechanism to allow for the pass-through of these variable costs without resorting to a permanent rate increase.
In January of each year, the PCA resets to budgeted levels. The PCA charge will vary each month. For months where energy costs are lower than projected, the PCA will result in a credit. In months the energy costs are higher, you may see a charge. In January 2016, the PCA was -$.0024, but by December 2016, the PCA was -$.021719, resulting in a larger credit.
Due to the reset, the January 2017 PCA will be -$.0069, resulting in a $8.63 credit for the average residential usage of 1250 kWh. Compared to December 2016’s PCA, at the same usage of 1250 kWhs, you would see a $27.15 credit – a difference of $18.52.
Click here to see a sample December 2016 and January 2017 bill.