In 2022, EIEC began an extensive cost of service and rate study. That study showed us that while the cooperative was doing okay financially, we weren't quite collecting enough to properly maintain our distribution system. It further showed that a 2.5 percent rate increase was necessary to maintain system reliability and help cover the rising costs we've all seen in recent years. As we continued analysis, we determined that many of our fixed costs were being collected through kWh sales. If we have a milder summer or winter, our kWh sales could drop and could lead to reliability issues with our service. After all options were considered, the EIEC Board of Directors decided that our rate structure needed to be adjusted to ensure these fixed costs are met.

Our new rate structure consists of 3 major changes. First, there will be an increase in the base charge of most rates. Second, we will be adding a demand component to our bill. Demand refers to the maximum amount of power (measured in kilowatts or kW) that is being consumed at a specific time. It is related to, but different than, kWh, which is the amount of power used over a period of time. EIEC will be measuring each member's demand every 15 minutes and the highest demand value of each month will be factor used to charge you for your demand each month. Lastly, since we are making demand its own charge, we will be lowering our kWh charge. We anticipate most members that are on our general single phase service (80% of our members) will see a 2-3% increase on their bill. These changes will be effective on your April bill for your March usage.

If you would like more information on our new rate restructuring or how to manage your demand, please visit the links below.

https://www.eiec.org/2024-rate-restructuring 

https://www.eiec.org/demand-information

If you have questions about the new rate structure or would like to know how it will impact you, please call us at 800-824-5102 or email us at info@eiec.coop