Membership MATTERS
Rising Costs Lead 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.
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.
“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.
“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.
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.
Look for more details in the Perspective on the next page and on the cover of this magazine.
Impacts at a Glance:
Working to manage the impacts of a rising costs environment
As a cooperative we exist to provide at-cost electricity and to work in the best interests of our members, so it’s never easy to pass along an increase. We’ve been able to shield members from much of the impact of extreme rising costs over the past decade, even giving money back to members in the form of bill credits some years.
However, in the past few years, wholesale power cost has continued a trend of increasing to what is now an impact of 12%, which annually equates to millions of dollars for the cooperative. This is largely driven by governmental policies that are going too far, too fas t to close coal-fired power plants without adequate replacements online for generating “on demand” power.
Layered on top of this shift in the energy market are sharply rising costs for materials and services needed to provide reliable electricity.
With the key driver of wholesale power cost, a cost-of-service study showing the need for a 1½% rate adjustment, effective in October, was approved by your Board of Directors. Also included in base rates will be the $9 per 1,000 kWh that has appeared for the past 20 months on members’ bills 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 reflected in the rates and will no longer be a separate line item.
We will continue all efforts to shield members from rising cost impacts. Through internal efforts, we’ve reduced operational costs. I’m also pleased your Propane and Fuels subsidiary was able to contribute $2 million from their excess cash last year to help control costs for members! Your subsidiaries will continue to play an essential role in helping us offset rising costs.
It is also more important than ever for your cooperative, the utility industry as a whole and all consumers to voice concerns to our elected officials regarding current and future energy policies and their impact on the bills of consumers.
While we support cleaner energy, we believe it’s imperative the transition doesn’t pose undue harm to member bills or the reliability of electricity by going too far, too fast.
Wholesale power cost is critical because it makes up over half of our operating costs. Our full requirement contract with Duke Energy Carolinas has helped us keep rates low over the years. In fact, we’ve saved $323 million compared to the state median since 2004 and we’re one of the lowest-cost energy providers in North Carolina.
At Blue Ridge Energy, we’re working to keep member costs low and to maintain our 99.99% reliability rating. Rising costs will affect our nation and your cooperative for the foreseeable future, but our commitment to you, our members, is that we will do everything possible to mitigate these costs in accordance with our commitment to the strategic objective of keeping your bill as low as possible.
From Blue Ridge CEO Doug Johnson
Telephone Town Hall coming soon!
Join us for our Telephone Town Hall on Oct. 29 at 6:30 p.m. To participate, simply answer the phone when we call at this time.
You’ll hear Chief Executive Officer Doug Johnson discuss timely updates about your cooperative. You’ll also have the opportunity to ask questions.
We will call members the day before the event as a reminder of the date, time and how to participate. The primary phone number on members’ accounts will be used, so please contact us today to be sure we have the number you prefer listed on your account.
Do you have money waiting?
To help our former members receive refunds due to them through the cooperative’s capital credits retirements, all unclaimed capital credits are listed on our website. To check the list, visit BlueRidgeEnergy.com and click the “Residential” tab. Click the “Money Back to You! Capital Credits” link and scroll to the bottom of the page to find the “Unclaimed Capital Credits” link.
Unclaimed capital credits are funds waiting for our former members for whom we don’t have a valid address. This is an important reason to always contact us any time your address changes.
If you are on the list, please contact us Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Proof of identity will be necessary to receive the refunds.
For the best service...
Please contact us any time you change your telephone number, e-mail or mailing address. This helps us provide you with the best member service experience, especially during outages or when you need us. It also ensures timely delivery of important items such as your capital credits refund!
