embership M
09 TWENTY TWENTY FOUR
MATTERS
Rising Costs L ead to 1½% Rate Adjustment Average member will see additional $2 on their monthly bill beginning in October Significant and ongoing increases in wholesale power cost is the key driver behind the need for a 1½% rate adjustment approved by the Board of Directors of Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation (d/b/a Blue Ridge Energy) following a thorough cost of service study. Beginning in October, the typical Blue Ridge Energy member using approximately 1,000 kWh monthly will see an additional $2 on their monthly electric bill.
“In the past few years, wholesale power cost, which is the largest portion of our budget, has increased by 12% — a financial impact of millions of dollars for the cooperative,” Johnson said. “This is largely driven by governmental policies going too far, too fast to force the retirement of coal-fired power plants without adequate replacements in place.” Additional pressure is coming from sharply rising costs for materials and services needed to provide reliable electricity, he added.
Also included in base rates will be the $9 per 1,000 kWh that has appeared on members’ bills for the past 20 months as a wholesale power cost adjustment—a method used by utilities to recover periodic fluctuations in power cost. However, the trend of rising wholesale power costs has been sustained and must now be included in rates; therefore, it will no longer be a separate line item.
Blue Ridge Energy wants to help members keep their bills as low as possible. Tips and energy efficiency information are available on BlueRidgeEnergy.com, where members will also find programs such as Budget Billing, our “pay as you use” FlexPay option and Usage Tracker, which shows daily electricity usage, helping members make changes if needed to get ahead of high bills.
“We’re committed to providing the lowest cost, most reliable electricity to our members so it’s never easy to pass along an increase— we only do so when absolutely necessary,” said Chief Executive Officer Doug Johnson.
Look for more details in the Perspective on the next page and on the cover of this magazine.
Impacts at a Glance:
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8/8/24 12:52 PM