Over the past couple of years, we have seen inflation rise rapidly due to circumstances beyond our control. Almost everything we use has increased in price by a substantial amount. We are experiencing the same issues here at AEC. Increased costs for fuel, materials, labor, equipment, and insurance drive our cost of service up. Along with this, generation costs due to higher natural gas prices and other factors have increased our supplier’s energy charge. Supply chain shortages add to the problem.
AEC has not changed our rates in the past ten years. We were fortunate to have an oil and gas boom that helped carry us through this period. However, we have come to a point where we need to make a change to meet the increased cost of service. Maintaining our system and providing reliable service to you, our members, is always a top priority. To do so, the Board of Trustees has approved an increase to the Customer Service Charge. This is a fixed charge that is part of the rate structure to cover the base cost of service. The Customer Service Charge will increase for different rate classes as follows:
Account Current Rate: New Rate:
Rate 1 – Residential $18.00/month $25.00/month
Rate 2 – Farm & Ranch $18.00/month $25.00/month
Rate 3 – Single Phase Commercial $21.00/month $30.00/month
Rate 4 & up – Three Phase Accounts $50.00/month $70.00/month
Increasing these rates was a difficult decision to make. Unfortunately, the increase is necessary to maintain a reliable system and a financially solid cooperative. This rate change will be effective on the May 18th billing date, with the bill due on June 10th.