March-2024 Cooperative Living-SVEC - 17

COOPERATIVE NEWS
Understanding High Wintertime Bills
by Preston Knight, Communication Manager
A
s you read this, let's hope the
temperatures are reasonable
outside. Because as we
produce these pages, they are not.
Not unlike the timeline of putting
out a magazine, it's important to
remember bills you receive for electric
service capture your consumption
aſt er the fact, due roughly a month
from the last day in your meterreading
cycle. It might be hard to
remember several weeks back how
cold it was and how much electricity
you were using to stay warm this
winter.
Wintertime usually means higherthan-normal-bills,
but an extended
cold snap, or periods of temperatures
well below freezing that the Valley
had this year, can cause signifi cant
increases in electric bills. Your heating
system works harder to keep you
comfortable when it's colder outside,
and you're likely to be spending more
time inside - therefore, running
systems and appliances longer.
Higher bills in the winter months
are not a refl ection of extra charges
for electricity from SVEC during the
wintertime. Please keep this in mind
upon receipt of your bills this season.
Come summertime, SVEC's rates
are set up such that those who use
more electricity are charged more for
it, over a threshold of 800 kWh for
residential members.
Th e equation in the winter
is generally straightforward:
Temperature drop, consumption rises,
and bills are higher.
RATE REVISION ALSO IN PLAY
Th e extreme cold snap only tells
part of the story about current bills.
Regardless of what this season had
in store, on Jan. 2, SVEC fi led a
proposal to increase distribution
rates to the State Corporation
Commission. Bills rendered on or
aſt er Feb. 1 were aff ected.
Th e new rates mean an average
CONTACT US
Mailing Address
180 Oakwood Drive, Rockingham, VA 22801
Phone
Web
800-234-7832 * svec.coop
Email
svecpr@svec.coop
Local Pages Editor
Preston Knight
Local Pages Designer
Ashley Kreis
Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative is
an equal opportunity provider and employer.
SVEC supports our armed services and veterans
in employment opportunities.
SVEC's offi ces and drive-thrus now close to
the public at 4 p.m. The cooperative's business
hours remain 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.
svec.coop
March 2024 * Cooperative Living * 15
residential member using 1,000 kWh
per month would see an increase
of about $7.27 per month, which
includes the power cost adjustment
rate as of February 2024. Th e power
cost adjustment is a pass-through
cost from SVEC's wholesale
provider, Old Dominion Electric
Cooperative. It makes up roughly
70% of a member's monthly bill, and
can fl uctuate throughout the year,
further increasing but also potentially
decreasing bills in the process. SVEC
has no control over this cost.
Th e February power cost
adjustment for ODEC was higher
than it was at the time of the rate
fi ling in January, slightly increasing
the overall impact on SVEC member
bills.
Since a broader rate fi ling in 2021,
SVEC has continued to see increases
in its costs of service consistent with
the increasing costs of doing business
in the utility industry and economy
in general. Despite eff orts to control
costs, the co-op has determined it
needs additional revenue to continue
to meet fi nancial obligations, provide
high levels of reliability and member
service, and to minimize the need for
even larger increases in the future.
Th e rate increase and brutal cold
of this winter likely explain higher
bills you've seen recently or will see
until bills refl ect a calendar turn to
spring.
Learn more at svec.coop/rates. *
Updated Lobby & Drive-Thru Hours
http://www.svec.coop/rates http://www.svec.coop http://www.svec.coop
March-2024 Cooperative Living-SVEC

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