WPCA credit on December bills

As a not-for-profit electric cooperative, Central Electric continually strives to provide safe, reliable, and affordable power for members.

In order to provide the highest quality of electric service to members at the most competitive price, the cooperative operates as close to at-cost as possible, setting rates to generate enough revenue to purchase power and provide exceptional service.

An important part in determining rate schedules is predicting the future cost of wholesale power. Wholesale power costs account for approximately 65 percent of expenses and they significantly impact rates.

These costs can be difficult to predict. Rather than doing frequent, costly rate studies, Central Electric and other cooperatives often use a wholesale power cost adjustment (WPCA) to adjust for actual costs of wholesale power. When costs are lower, you may receive a credit on your bill, and when they are higher, it may appear as a charge.

Due to favorable fuel and wholesale power costs, actual costs have been lower than budgeted costs for the past operating year. That’s why on your December power bill, you will notice a WPCA credit of $.029 per kWh, or $29.00 for every 1,000 kWh used.

While rates sometimes need to be adjusted to account for rising expenses, our members also directly benefit from billing credits and capital credit allocations when the cooperative has excess revenue. This is just another benefit of being a cooperative member and how we are looking out for you.