Inland Electric Rates Effective
April 1, 2018
Dear Valued Member,
As an Inland Power member, your electric rates are amongst the lowest in the nation. In October 2017, Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) completed a rate case evaluation of their cost of supplying power to millions of homes and businesses throughout the Pacific Northwest. This resulted in a 5.4 percent increase in our wholesale cost of power and a 1.0 percent increase in our cost for transmission services. Based on this BPA increase, we find it necessary to increase our electric rates and service availability charge. Starting on April 1, 2018, our service availability charge will increase to $23.55 per month and our kWh charge will increase by 4.6 percent per month. A $2.4 million draw on Inland’s reserves over the next two years is also anticipated to minimize this rate impact. WHAT ARE THE MAIN DRIVERS FOR THE RATE INCREASE? • INCREASED POWER COSTS – BPA substantially increased the
cost of power that we deliver to you, our valued member. Inland Power purchases all our power from BPA and power costs make up over 50% of our retail rates. In addition to the increased cost of wholesale power, Inland Power is also challenged by minimal load growth due to weather, conservation and minimal new residential or commercial developments. • INCREASED I-937 COSTS – Also included in this rate increase
is the additional cost to meet Washington’s renewable energy requirements (I-937), approved by voters in 2006. Inland Power’s mandated renewable energy requirement increased from 3% to 9% in January 2016 and will rise to 15% in 2020. • IMPROVEMENT IN OUR DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM –
In 2017, Inland Power celebrated 80 years of service. With that accolade also comes a burden of an older distribution system and infrastructure. Inland Power has an aggressive work plan to continue to replace and improve aging infrastructure as needed to keep our reliability high. With the benefit of new technology and invaluable data, Inland Power is now able to better prioritize what equipment needs to be replaced or upgraded to meet the growing needs of our membership. Your board of trustees approved a $69.7 million 2018 work plan and budget that puts Inland Power in a stronger position to harden our system and mitigate future outages. HOW DO WE COMPARE?
One of the ways Inland Power measures our success is comparing our rates with other utilities across the nation, and in particular, our region. Even with this increase, out of 809 cooperatives across the country, Inland Power’s rates are still amongst the lowest 3% in the nation. The back page outlines additional benchmarks we use to ensure that we continue to safely and reliably serve you with some of the lowest rates in the country. Although rate increases are never popular, they are necessary given the cost drivers outlined above. Even with these challenges, Inland Power is fortunate to remain your electric provider with some of the lowest rates in the state and country. As a cooperative utility, you are an owner and member of Inland Power. We appreciate the opportunity to be your utility company and to serve you. If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact our office at inlandpower@inlandpower.com or (509) 789-4277.
RESIDENTIAL & SEASONAL Service Availability Charge (single phase)
$23.55
Service Availability Charge (three phase)
$33.00
kWh Charge
Supplemental Residential $11.78 Service Availability Charge GENERAL Service Availability Charge (single phase)
$23.55
Service Availability Charge (three phase)
$33.00
Demand Charge (over 50 KW)
$7.50
kWh Charge
$0.0700
LARGE COMMERCIAL Service Availability Charge
$350
Demand Charge
$7.50
kWh Charge
$0.0570
SMALL IRRIGATION Service Availability Charge (single phase)
$23.55
Service Availability Charge (three phase)
$33.00
kWh Charge
$0.0680
LARGE IRRIGATION Horsepower Charge
$6.60
Demand Charge
$6.50
kWh Charge (May to Sept.)
$0.0380
kWh Charge (Oct. to Apr.)
$0.0470
OUTDOOR LIGHTING Outdoor Lighting Charge
Cooperatively,
CHAD JENSEN CEO, Inland Power & Light
$0.0680
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON BACK
Approx. 3.5% Increase
Inland Power has some of the lowest rates in the country. HOW DO WE COMPARE? One of the ways Inland Power measures our success is comparing our rates to other utilities across the nation, and in particular, our region. Even with the April 1, 2018 increase, Inland Power continues to serve you with some of the lowest rates in the nation.
Out of 809 cooperatives, Inland Power’s rates are amongst the lowest 3% in the nation.
Inland Power monthly bills rank as some $ of the lowest in the region.
OKANOGAN COUNTY ELECTRIC COOP
AVISTA
HOW DOES OUR SERVICE AVAILABILITY CHARGE COMPARE?
KOOTENAI ELECTRIC
* INCLUDES KWH AND SERVICE AVAILABILITY CHARGE AND AVERAGE USAGE OF 1,500 KWH PER MONTH. ** BASED ON U.S. EIA NOVEMBER 2017 DATA.
SEATTLE CITY LIGHT
STATE AVERAGE**
VERA WATER & POWER
INLAND NATIONAL POWER AVERAGE** AVERAGE*
INLAND POWER
$11235
$12555
09 85 $ $13440 $136 139
15350
$16525
$17100
PUGET SOUND ENERGY
HOW DO INLAND POWER BILLS COMPARE TO OUR NEIGHBORING UTILITIES?
CLEARWATER POWER
HOW DOES INLAND POWER COMPARE TO OTHER UTILITIES ACROSS THE NATION?
*BASED ON THE AVERAGE INLAND POWER MEMBER USAGE OF 1,500 KILOWATT HOURS PER MONTH. (RATES AS OF APRIL 2018; INCLUDES SERVICE AVAILABILITY CHARGE WHERE APPLICABLE).
PUGET SOUND ENERGY* AVISTA UTILITIES*
Every service we use in our homes or business—whether it’s electricity, cable/satellite television, natural gas, etc.—has some form of a monthly charge to cover the base cost of providing the service. It is an investment that assures there is service when it is needed.
BIG BEND ELECTRIC NESPELEM VALLEY ELECTRIC INLAND POWER AND LIGHT CLEARWATER POWER COMPANY KOOTENAI ELECTRIC TANNER ELECTRIC COLUMBIA REA OKANOGAN PUD
When you need electricity, all you need to do is flip a switch or plug into an outlet. What happens before the flip of that switch is a significant commitment and investment of time, equipment, facilities and people your cooperative has in place to ensure power is there when you need it. *ALTHOUGH PUGET SOUND ENERGY AND AVISTA HAVE THE LOWEST SERVICE AVAILABILITY CHARGE, THEIR KILOWATT HOUR USAGE CHARGE IS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER AS YOU CAN SEE IN THE GRAPHIC ABOVE.